Slaw
Was anyone “shocked” to see Ken Roczen run inside the top five in his first race of the Pro Motocross season at Unadilla?
In his first appearance since the Pittsburgh round of Monster Energy AMA Supercross in April, Roczen made his return to racing on Saturday at round 10 of Pro Motocross and immediately was in the mix, finishing fifth in the first 450 moto.
In the second moto, Roczen again was running inside the top 10 until he pulled off on the 12th lap. On Monday, Roczen posted a lengthy update on his personal Instagram and talked about how the intensity is always different and noting that he’s had “little” time on the bike since undergoing ankle surgery earlier this year which cost him the final two rounds of Supercross.
While his main focus is the upcoming SuperMotocross Playoffs, which kicks off September 6 in Charlotte, it’s pretty crazy how the former Pro Motocross Champion can show up and get a fifth in his first race back.
Below is his full post:
“Unadilla is done and dusted. Overall it was a pretty decent weekend i think. I put myself in a vulnerable position to race with having little time on the bike. Nothing replaces actual seat time.
How ever, i m glad i went and blew myself out a little bit. It’s the best thing for you and pushes your body to a different level almost immediately. My ankle held up good. I haven’t even really put my foot down much at home so i was pumped to feel it out.
I was pretty stoked on a 5th place finish in the first moto. I thought i rode decent. I definitely didn’t carry enough speed around the whole track with my line choices and stuff but that is all something that comes back within a couple of races. The outdoor eyes gotta come back.
2nd moto i had about 15min in me. I was pretty gassed at that point. The Intensity racing is always at another level than at home. The track was hard pack and super fast, bumpy and it all kind of beat me to shit 😆 I was cramping so bad in my obliques and under my rib cage i literally couldn’t inhale anymore it was like a knife in there. I have never actually had that happen to that extend. I obviously wanted to finish the race i only had 3 laps to go but it was such strange pain and not being able to inhale… i ended up going back to the rig and called it a day.
Anyway, i m glad i did it. Outdoors is tough. Straightens you out real quick! Massive thank you to all the fans and the support. Hearing and seeing the stoked out there is something i always appreciate. The team got everything handled as well and it always seems to all be on very short notice 😂 @hepmotorsports Time to do some more work and be better! 🤘🏽”
