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Friday, August 13, 2010 | 8:22 AM
ODI dates back to the 1980’s as the leader in grip manufacturing. Focusing primarily on the bmx and mountain bike industries through the 90’s and early 2000’s, ODI re-entered the motocross scene when they developed the patented lock-on grip system that eliminates wire and glue. Continuing to advance the way riders hold on to their bikes, ODI has worked closely with the teams they support such as Troy Lee Designs to create the product that is now being used by some of the top teams in the industry.
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In this article…
Riders
- James Stewart
- Tyla Rattray
- Travis Preston
- Kyle Partridge
- Ivan Tedesco
- Dean Wilson
- James Stewart
- Wil Hahn
Races
All kudos to you for your witty, entertaining observations and insights. Now moving right along I would like to first state that I respect James Stewart for his ability and accomplishments. HOWEVER, I would also like to ask everyone to please stop referring to James as the fastest man on the planet. How about, "the fastest accident waiting to happen" or "the fastest man to exit his championship defense without issuing an apology to anyone he crashed into along the way"?
Seriously, has James ever truly apologized to the people whose seasons he ended or at least temporarily ended? Ivan Tedesco, Travis Preston come to mind and I think is was Kyle Partridge in Phoenix earlier this year. Maybe I missed it, but I don't recall an "I'm sorry" or a "Hey man, my bad" coming from Stewart. We only heard about what happened to James and how it would impact his championship aspirations and from incidents that were HIS fault.
It frustrates me as a fan not to have Bubba out on the track; he is truly an incredible talent. But talent alone does not win championships or invoke a favorable legendary status. Sport of all variety is littered with the legends of "what could have been." He's not one of the best ever, yet. He could be, but he hasn't earned it, yet. Carmichael, McGrath, Hannah, Johnson, Stanton, Ward, Bailey, Glover, Everts, DeCoster, Geboers et c. were also smart racers and made major achievements during their racing careers. Sadly Bubba hasn't yet shown any of the qualities of the aforementioned legends.
This is not a one-lap sport, nor a partial season sport. If a name is to go down in the annals of Moto-history with the greats there has to be more substance, not just talent. So instead of the question of "How will Dungey do when the fastest man on the planet returns?" How about "Hey James, when will you get back to being a real racer, show us what your made of and shut this clown up?"
Go ahead James, shut me up.....please - I DOUBLE DOG DARE YA!
Thanks Ping.
David Martin
New Mexico
Dear David,
Wow, calling James out, big-time. I don’t know if he was solely to blame for all those instances, but I do know that the media absolutely kisses his ass. Maybe he’s sending holiday gifts to Emig, Sheheen and Erin Bates because they seem to think he walks on water. He has certainly claimed his spot in the history books as being one of the best 125 riders ever; there’s no question about that. But he had aspirations of beating McGrath’s supercross records and Carmichael’s outdoor records before he retired. Well, he better get crack-a-lackin’ because time is ticking and he isn’t even close to either of those records right now. He can get four more MX wins this summer but I don’t think Dungey is just going to let him have them. We’ll see on Saturday.
PING
I was watching Tyla Rattray challenging Dean Wilson late in the second moto at RedBud and noticed he wasn't wearing a Leatt Brace or any type of neck protection. Tyla must have gotten tired and thus decided to take that dirt nap near the end of the race. He went head first into the rut, which shows how bad he wanted to lay down his weary head. I was surprised that he didn't injure his neck. Why are some riders opposed to the Leatt Brace or neck protection in general? You could even ask Wil Hahn the same question; I don't think he wears any neck protection. Is there no hard evidence to show these devices can prevent neck injuries? Is there evidence to indicate the possibility of secondary injuries such as broken collarbones? I'd take a broken collarbone over a broken neck any day. Professional motocross riders are role models whether they like it or not. They have a responsibility to promote safety to many young riders who look up to them. I read my message several times for grammatical errors. I apologize if there are any; I have my degree in mathematics. I'm better with numbers, not so much with words.
James Dow
#70
The biggest gripe from riders that don’t wear neck protection is that they restrict movement when they ride. I guess that’s a given; that’s what it’s supposed to do. They also insist that they haven’t seen any solid proof that neck injuries have decreased since people started wearing them. I tend to think that if you can wear it and get used to it then why wouldn’t you? Better safe than sorry. You like numbers? Here’s my two cents: If you hurt your cervical spine now, since the advent of these devices, and you weren’t wearing one when you crashed you would never forgive yourself.
PING
Dear Ping,
If you ever look closely to CP377 on the podium have you ever noticed that the Monster Energy drink that he has in is hand he either does a terrible job of fake drinking it or it's empty or has water in it? At RedBud when he poured the supposed "Monster" on himself, wouldn’t you think it would be more fitting to use a drink less sticky and doesn’t taste and smell like Robitussin? I understand the whole sponsorship thing requires them to have it in their hand at the time, but our top athletes in our sport are in fact not actors. Maybe the podium drink should be left to Arrowhead or Gatorade or possibly milk. No disrespect to CP377's acting or riding ability, but for a guy who showers after every moto I highly doubt he would pour Monster of all things on himself. So, what actually is in those cans and bottles? Enlighten me as to this confusing situation so the children who idolize the Fast Frenchman know what to drink to be fast on a dirtcycle.
It’s water. They call it "Tour Water" and it says that it's water right there on the can. Most of the guys on the podium are very particular about what they put in their bodies, especially right after a national moto, so I doubt they would really drink an energy drink. Maybe after the second moto, but I doubt it. Sorry if I have shaken you to your very core with this stunning revelation.
PING
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I certainly understand some of the hostility towards Stewart, but why would we, the fans, expect him to apologize to us for racing incidents? That being said, I have to agree with the first letter. He is definately put on a podium above alot of the other more consistent riders in the sport. But, maybe because he rides so fast and sometimes out of control is the reason he is entertaining to watch (ala Barcia). You've got to admit, how many guys coming straight off a long injury-laden layoff would be given great odds to win right off the bat? I can only count one in recent times...RC.
Slim, if I unerstand the question, I think he was asking if Stewie ever apologized to the riders he took down in any of his several crashes. I do remember RC looking back at Stewie and shaking his head as Stewie went down in a rut. And I remember RC flipping Stewies bike over off of his when Stewie landed on his back at Unadilla. Everyone remembers Preston getting in Stewie face when he faked a leg injury after he crossed the finish line after he pulled onto the track in front of Preston. But I dont remember anyone saying anything about Stewie apologizing for his misstakes. And guys winning after coming off an injury, I would add Mcgrath and Hannah to that list.
As for the "energy drinks," you can see in many cases that the riders are holding water bottles "decorated" in the colors of their drink sponsors. No doubt, it would be goofy for athletes at their level to be chugging sugar water after a moto.
I will give James this, He is a blast to watch ride, when he is leading..... But when he is coming thru the pack after a bad start or what ever, he is reckless. That is bad. for everyone on the track. He is not deserving YET of being in the same class as the above mentioned, but he could be...... Just get rid of Larry Brooks!!!!!
Is it just me or does Ping look like a chubby Lt. Dangle from Reno 911? LOL!
Like him or not how many people could come back after 23 months off the Nats and have 80% think he will be in the top 3 or win?? Will not look good for any of the top 5 guys if he wins. Just like when JYD at 44 beat almost everyone at the wick last year, True he is un real at the wick but lots of the guys he beat got beat because the got tired and that should NOT happen. I just hope it's a good clean race and all leave healthy. I would LOVE to see RD and JS go at it but thats to much to ask for at this point I guess.
I often wonder how much faster the top guys would be if they rode as careless as James. Travis was the same way, very fast but always crashed. I always thought it was great how RC would call a crash a "mistake". If you cracrap doesn't count. That's called riding over your head, and the top racers don't do that because they are racing for a Championship. I wonder how much closer the rest of the field would be if the season consisted of one round- best 20 laps wins it- because this is how James rides.
Remember a few years ago when "energy" drinks first became big sponsors. I believe it was Stewart who had a can of cra, er, energy drink in his hand with the words "water" or H2O black penned on the bottom. Camera caught it by accident. Thankfully for the sport someone figured out a way to write "this ain't sugary sweet soul sucking juice" on a container that cameras cannot detect.
You're right, Bd, read it wrong on my part. I am excited Stewart is coming back. I'm definately not a fan off his Reality show stuff, and quite honestly, tried to watch the first episode and stopped just because it gave me a biased and tainted image of him in my head I preferred not have. He is an incredibly talented and entertaining rider to watch, but more or less because you just want to see what happens next (i.e...horrific crash, insane style, etc..). Although I give James credit for being all out fast, I am not counting out Dungey to relinquish his reign just because James is back. It is a known fact that atheletes play to the level of their competition, and I believe when needed Dungey will rise to the ocassion. However, Dungey is damned either way...if he stays consistent to win the championship, we will say he cannot beat James, if he wicks it up and tries to run with Stewart (who should be fresh as a daisy after that long of a layoff) and wrecks potentially ruining his championship hopes, we will say he should have stayed consistent.
Times have changed and I think it would be difficult for any human being to refuse to have some deserved rest after an injury, add the fact that this guy has all he had dreamed of in his life and maybe now he does not feel the same motivation to continue racing. Why? He simply wants to have fun like any other guy at 24 years old with some cash on his wallet who knows??. Everyone has different vision of life. Anyway, For some reason everyone wants to watch Stewie racing once again, lovers, haters and all in between. So be it!!.
Funny how people look at JS differently than RV... Both extremely talented and race to win every race, and because of that they throw it down allot. I don't want to see guys ride under their limit... It gets boring seeing guys settle for top 5. And there is no way anyone will run with him this weekend unless he crashes... If he gets a top 5 start he will have a 10 second lead by lap 3.
I think JS (Jimmy Hat to us here in San diego) will get a great start, pull away and crash hard. Get up jump onto some privateers back coming through the pack and be back to do it again the following week at Southwick. What the history books will say about James is yet to be seen. He crashes too much to make it to the level of RC as far as wins go and JMs supercross record? Feggedaboutit! The Goat himself couldn't get near that record and he's the Goat. Until James stops crashing and gets three years of undefeated seasons or at least championships under his belt, we can dispense with talk of win or championship records being broken. how about two championships in a row? Consistency wins Championships as we all know. C'mon Dilla! It's gonna be great and I am glad Jimmyhat is back!
bd200, well said. JS's laying on the ground faking an injury when Preston came up was about the lamest thing I ever saw at an MX track. JS totally boned him, & when Preston (nice guy but no lilly and twice Stewart's size) came up all ticked off, Stewart slid off the bike onto the ground and curled up into the fetal position. Wow. Looked like he would have put on reading glasses too, if possible. Preston was just not believing it, then kinda laughed at him and walked off. Apologize for his incidents with other riders? Man up?? He couldn't even STAND up. Guys won't like it here, but that's what happened. Find the footage.... it's not pretty.
BILLC, he will be up front in at least one moto I feel. At least for a while. But I dont think it will make any of the top guys look bad. Because everyone knows Stewie can ride fast. And it isnt like the first time he has been on a bike in all this time he missed. He has been riding longer than most knows. He wouldnt come back unless he had a good chance of winning.
Bubba is a freaky talent on a bike, the way he moves on the bike blows me away, his ability to put sections of the track together so much different amazes me and he seems to never have a finger on the clutch, even in his 125 days, compared to a Chad Reed who seems to use his clutch to gauge speed. Bubba in my mind could be very close to the greatest mx and sx rider ever if not the greatest but however i don't think he will be now which is a shame because of what he has to give. But i hope nobody beats MC's 72 wins in my lifetime.
simo8, that is why bubba crashes so much, because he doesn't ride with a finger on the clutch! my brother and i have spoken about this for years. although he does grab it in corners!
Is it just me or does Ping look like a chubby Lt. Dangle from Reno 911?