What a weekend in Phoenix. We headed to the desert of Arizona, and my home state, but hit a cold spell. The weather was bitter cold, but with the opening ceremonies and the drop of the start gate, it quickly heated Chase Field in Phoenix. With Anaheim 1 complete, we’ve gotten an idea of our talent and line up for the main events. The sport has grown amazingly over the past years and the talent has proven to follow that trend of growth. From the close lap times in practice to the battles in the main events, it leaves us trying to predict who will top the podium at the end of the night. Anything can happen and it can be anyone’s game on the track.
Speaking of the amazing spread of talent and ability, there are still a lot of familiar faces missing on the race track. Injuries have been running high and that is putting out a bunch of well known guys that are usually in the front of the pack. Millsaps has been out with the recovery of a broken femur, Short is still going through a long recovery with his torn ACL, and Langston is now out with a broken collar bone. Not to mention you may not realize it, but some of the guys are still running out on the track with minor injuries that are an irritation, but they manage to work through the pain. All of these fine tuned athletes put themselves at risk of injury everyday. To go through the dilemma of an injury it takes a lot of work with mental and physical toughness. Conditioning, training, fitness, and mental strengths are a requirement and key to all of these riders’ success. These preparations are not only to win races, but to avoid injury. Also, I think that if an injury occurs to a conditioned rider, their recovery time is quicker than the average person.
When it comes to recovery in cure of an injury, it is not only important to treat the injury, but a process of devising a rehabilitation plan goes into effect. I was able to talk to Davi about recovering from an injury, like he is now, and about the training a Supercross rider does during the season. After a major injury it is best to get back on the bike as soon as it is safe to do so. But when an injury comes with a long recovery time and hinders your ability to get on the bike therapy is key. Therapy is the first thing that Davi’s doctor had him do after his broken femur to regain his mobility and get him back to the position of riding the bike. Doing everything possible to correct the injury and get better is the best thing to do. When it comes to taking days off it should be to relax and for the reason of not over doing it. You don’t want to push it over the limit because that can set you back even more. During a normal supercross season it is best to be on the bike as much as possible taking lap after lap. But training in the gym and doing cardio plays a big role. Think about putting in 15 or 20 hard laps in the main event and not letting off? To have that stamina to hold on and finish a race strong you not only have to practice on the bike, but have to put time into working out. Other than riding the bike Davi says it is most important to do cardio. Most riders spend hours a day in the gym, on the bicycle, and do lots of cardio work out. These activities keep the riders in top shape to feel a 100 percent on the bike. Like Davi said the gym, bicycle, and cardio cannot work everything that a bike does when you are out on the track. All of these things combined make these supercross riders some of the most physically fit, well conditioned athletes in the pro sport world. But Davi mentioned the only way to get through an injury or anything is to have heart and dedication.
Once again we have been entertained with another outstanding weekend of racing. The top three: Carmichael, Stewart, and Reed have proved to be the ones to beat to make the podium. And the Lites always seem to amaze us with up and coming talent. Also, the crowd got another treat with the KTM Jr. Supercross Challenge. These young riders took on the Phoenix track like the pros racing all the way to the finish line. I plan on heading out to California early this week to take part in the Loma Linda Kids Big Air Show. I had the chance to make it out last year for this event and am pleased to be apart of it again. See you in Anaheim where we will continue the chase of the 2007 Amp’d Mobile Supercross season.
See you at the races.
Brittney George
Miss Supercross
missupercross@yahoo.com
