After five professional seasons, Christian Craig has announced his retirement from professional racing. The California native, who spent his entire professional career with Lucas Oil/Troy Lee Designs Honda, announced his decision yesterday on his Instagram account. Craig dealt with numerous injuries throughout his career including a broken back in 2009 that forced him to miss all of 2010. Craig said the following regarding his decision via Instagram:
Since my last wrist injury in May I've been contemplating whether or not this is worth it. Motocross is all I've known, all I've wanted to do since I was a kid. But what you don't know until you've grown up a little bit is how hard it is on your body and mind. Your body can break over and over and you can keep trying to go out there and win but your mind is something that can't be fixed with a surgery. Since I've done a lot of sitting at home the past few months I've started to look at life after motocross. There are VERY few guys who can retire off what they've done in the motocross world and all the rest of us have to plan the rest of our lives. I have two options, I can stick this motocross thing out and worry about getting injured or I can get a head start on the rest of my life. I know option one sounds like a lot more fun but after the countless doctors appointments, therapy, and surgeries, that's not the best answer for me. It's hard to say goodbye to something I've always known but at some point I'm going to have to like everyone will. The industry is tough and it isn't all glamorous like some people may think. At the end of the day I just want to have fun riding my dirt bike and at times it's hard to do that with all the politics involved. Now ill be able to throw whips and do how ever many laps I want and most importantly, will have fun doing it. I'm excited to see what comes next for me in life and am looking forward to the future. Thanks to everyone who has supported me through the years and also the ones who have never doubted me.
Since my last wrist injury in May I've been contemplating whether or not this is worth it. Motocross is all I've known, all I've wanted to do since I was a kid. But what you don't know until you've grown up a little bit is how hard it is on your body and mind. Your body can break over and over and you can keep trying to go out there and win but your mind is something that can't be fixed with a surgery. Since I've done a lot of sitting at home the past few months I've started to look at life after motocross. There are VERY few guys who can retire off what they've done in the motocross world and all the rest of us have to plan the rest of our lives. I have two options, I can stick this motocross thing out and worry about getting injured or I can get a head start on the rest of my life. I know option one sounds like a lot more fun but after the countless doctors appointments, therapy, and surgeries, that's not the best answer for me. It's hard to say goodbye to something I've always known but at some point I'm going to have to like everyone will. The industry is tough and it isn't all glamorous like some people may think. At the end of the day I just want to have fun riding my dirt bike and at times it's hard to do that with all the politics involved. Now ill be able to throw whips and do how ever many laps I want and most importantly, will have fun doing it. I'm excited to see what comes next for me in life and am looking forward to the future. Thanks to everyone who has supported me through the years and also the ones who have never doubted me.
