Josh Says
Hi there,
I wish this ‘Josh Says’ was a good one but to be honest things could be better. It’s Tuesday after Loket and as you probably know I crashed in the 2nd heat hurting my shoulder. Here’s a rundown of what went on. Moto 1 I was running third looking to make a pass on Brown when my bike skidded to a stop as I passed the mechanics' area. I thought I stalled it so I tried to bump start it while I had some speed, but it didn’t work. The chain was tight so I thought I had broken the gear box or something, Finally I managed to find neutral but I still couldn’t move the bike. I looked for a rock in the chain but there was nothing, then my mechanic, Fabio, found a rock in the brake which had jammed the lever on. I lost around 1 minute thirty and couldn’t ride back into the points.
Moto 2 I was running 4th after around 6 laps or so. The track was tricky so I was taking it easy and biding my time. I passed the finish line, turned right then launched down the big drop off like every other lap and then tried to slow down for the corner at the bottom but couldn’t and lost control, high siding into the fence. I was a bit dazed and had a cut above my left eye from the crash and didn’t really know what happened, but I got back on the bike and tried to continue. As I rode away my shoulder was clicking and I knew then that my day was over. I rode into the pit box and when I tried to stop I realized I didn’t have a rear brake. I crashed again as it was wet -- riding one-handed with just the front brake in the wet isn’t easy! I fell on my shoulder again. (Post race inspections showed a hole in the brake-line, which could have happened anywhere. MX is a contact sport and these freak occurrences can happen!)
Feeling pretty stupid I went to the medical centre for an X-ray. The shoulder was in place, which was my first concern, as I thought it was dislocated. After a tough trip back to Belgium I went to see my specialist. We found a clean break at the neck of the Glenoid (shoulder blade). So where does this leave me now? Most likely, I will miss Namur this weekend and come back in Ireland. Will I be 100 percent there? Many people say I’m a tough rider and always give 100 percent -- I guess we will soon find out. I want to thank my team, trainer, doctors and physio, as well as everybody around me and the fans, for their help and support. Thanks for all the phone calls and e-mails of encouragement. Sorry I can’t reply back to you all, but I do appreciate it. I can promise you two things: I will never give up on winning this championship and will do everything in my power to be strong and fit for the last three GPs. See you at the races soon...
Cheers,
JC.
