In spite of many excellent off-road riders, the 2009 GEICO AMA EnduroCross season has been basically dominated by Red Bull KTM’s Taddy Blazusiak – until the recent Columbus, Ohio round. It was there in the Schottenstein Center on the campus of Ohio State where 37 year old Geoff Aaron bested all to take his first win of the season. We tracked down the ten-time Trials champ to congratulate him on taking his first win.
Geoff Aaron: You know, I’ve been close quite a few times, and had a really close race here last year. I’m running second in points and just wanted to have a strong ride. I was riding decent tonight and I was able to hold off Taddy.
What was the key to winning an EnduroCross main?
My goal every race is to be aggressive at the start and try to get through the mayhem because it’s crazy at the beginning! Then ride steady during the bulk of the race; be consistent, steady, and trying not to make many mistakes. Don’t worry about anyone else, and then hopefully have enough energy to charge at the end of the race. Pretty much my plan worked in Ohio, and I was still strong at the end, so, I feel like I accomplished what I set out to do.
Does it give you a little extra boost to have bested the guy that has been winning everything?
Like I said, I’ve had quite a few runner-up positions to Taddy; now it feels good to finally take a win and beat all the other guys. There’s a lot of talent out here in EnduroCross right now. I’ve been progressively getting better at it, and it just feels good to finally take my first win.
After your win, Taddy came up and gave you a big hug. It appears that in EnduroCross, maybe more so than some other sports, that there’s a lot of friendliness.
Well, in particular with Taddy, I know him from riding Trials. I’ve known him for quite a few years, before he was even racing EnduroCross. I have a lot of respect for all the riders out there, but I like to see the trials riders do well, and he likes to see the trials riders do well, so it’s a good rivalry.
As you said, Taddy’s got a pretty awesome lead. Unfortunately for the first three races this year, all the guys were all mixing and dicing, and my results so far have been a fourth, fourth, a second, and now a first. Unless Taddy makes some pretty major mistakes, he will probably take the championship. Now he just needs to ride smart and safe to win it. Either way though, I don’t think anybody really wanted to see him sweep the whole series, so I was just glad to be the guy to get in there on him.
The next EnduroCross is coming up near the end of the month in Denver. With the finale in Vegas later in November, what else do you have going on?
Well, I’ve kind of lightened up my schedule a little bit with my trials exhibitions so that I could focus a little more on EnduroCross. I plan on riding as much trials as I can, and riding as much motocross as I can. Denver is actually my home race, so I hope I can have another strong race out there. Vegas is always up in the air. Hopefully I’ll just finish up strong this year and have had a good season.
And after Vegas?
Right now I’m working on my first quarter. It looks like I’ll be really busy with the Feld freestyle motocross shows that will take place in January, February, and March. I’ll basically go on tour at the beginning of January with my trials exhibition. I will have a few different demos leading up to that, but basically, I’m starting to gear up for 2010 right now.
Anything else I might have missed or you want to add, Geoff?
Just like I said, it feels great to get my first win. The EnduroCross series is a really awesome off-road series. If you haven’t come and seen one, you need to make sure you get out and check it out.
Geoff Aaron: You know, I’ve been close quite a few times, and had a really close race here last year. I’m running second in points and just wanted to have a strong ride. I was riding decent tonight and I was able to hold off Taddy.
What was the key to winning an EnduroCross main?
My goal every race is to be aggressive at the start and try to get through the mayhem because it’s crazy at the beginning! Then ride steady during the bulk of the race; be consistent, steady, and trying not to make many mistakes. Don’t worry about anyone else, and then hopefully have enough energy to charge at the end of the race. Pretty much my plan worked in Ohio, and I was still strong at the end, so, I feel like I accomplished what I set out to do.
Does it give you a little extra boost to have bested the guy that has been winning everything?
Like I said, I’ve had quite a few runner-up positions to Taddy; now it feels good to finally take a win and beat all the other guys. There’s a lot of talent out here in EnduroCross right now. I’ve been progressively getting better at it, and it just feels good to finally take my first win.
After your win, Taddy came up and gave you a big hug. It appears that in EnduroCross, maybe more so than some other sports, that there’s a lot of friendliness.
Well, in particular with Taddy, I know him from riding Trials. I’ve known him for quite a few years, before he was even racing EnduroCross. I have a lot of respect for all the riders out there, but I like to see the trials riders do well, and he likes to see the trials riders do well, so it’s a good rivalry.
As you said, Taddy’s got a pretty awesome lead. Unfortunately for the first three races this year, all the guys were all mixing and dicing, and my results so far have been a fourth, fourth, a second, and now a first. Unless Taddy makes some pretty major mistakes, he will probably take the championship. Now he just needs to ride smart and safe to win it. Either way though, I don’t think anybody really wanted to see him sweep the whole series, so I was just glad to be the guy to get in there on him.
The next EnduroCross is coming up near the end of the month in Denver. With the finale in Vegas later in November, what else do you have going on?
Well, I’ve kind of lightened up my schedule a little bit with my trials exhibitions so that I could focus a little more on EnduroCross. I plan on riding as much trials as I can, and riding as much motocross as I can. Denver is actually my home race, so I hope I can have another strong race out there. Vegas is always up in the air. Hopefully I’ll just finish up strong this year and have had a good season.
And after Vegas?
Right now I’m working on my first quarter. It looks like I’ll be really busy with the Feld freestyle motocross shows that will take place in January, February, and March. I’ll basically go on tour at the beginning of January with my trials exhibition. I will have a few different demos leading up to that, but basically, I’m starting to gear up for 2010 right now.
Anything else I might have missed or you want to add, Geoff?
Just like I said, it feels great to get my first win. The EnduroCross series is a really awesome off-road series. If you haven’t come and seen one, you need to make sure you get out and check it out.
