KTM riders prepare for season
By TMX Archives on 22nd Jan 09
THE KTM factory riders start their preparation for the coming GP season in earnest tomorrow (Saturday).Other than the tests with the 2009 bike at Mantova in November, I haven't sat on a motocross bike since the last round of the German Masters in early October, admitted Max Nagl (pictured on the left of the photograph, talking to Stefan Everts) last week. The decision comes from Stefan (Everts), and everything else he has advised seems to have worked, so I had no hesitation in doing it. Stefan reckons that if you ride too much, you get stale and peak too early. I have been on a bike, either riding enduro or trials, but not a motocross bike.
The German has, however, spent the entire winter gradually building his physical condition: I spend nearly every day with our trainer Hugo America. We work in a group, me, Hugo, Shaun Simpson, Joel Roelants and Jeremy Van Horebeek.
It will be remembered that Nagl suffered from an iron deficiency thought to have been caused by over-training during the first half of last season, but then out-scored everybody through the second half of the year. The speed is there, now the system has to click.