In the short term, Ken Roczen’s Monster Energy Supercross Championship hopes just took a literal hit, as a pair of crashes in Atlanta made for one tough day at the races. After an eighteenth-place finish, he’s been pushed back to third in the standings, now 31 points down on Ryan Dungey. The good news is Kenny avoided major injuries, and he’ll be back in the fight this weekend.
Longer term: there’s a real plan beginning to build. Last week we spoke to Aldon Baker about the changes to his Baker’s Factory, with Roczen moving on and Ryan Dungey moving in. This week we’ve uncovered some of Roczen’s plans going forward.
First, it’s again key to point out that while Baker is no longer Roczen’s trainer, they split amicably and remain friends—so much so that Roczen is still using Baker’s track to ride. We’ve heard trainers (including Baker) tell us for years that not every plan works for every rider, and this situation is just further proof.
Roczen simply isn’t built like a lot of other riders, and his natural ability and fitness is quite impressive. We recently heard Adam Cianciarulo speak of this on our BTOSports.com Racer X Podcast, where he marveled at Kenny’s ridiculous leg strength and power.
As Kenny’s training has grown more sophisticated, he’s started to dive deeper into the science of it all. The folks at Red Bull can help, as they have access to some very high-end trainers, testing, and facilities. Roczen, like any top rider, knows he’ll need the structure and program that a trainer can provide, but he wants to make sure it aligns with his specific makeup. Again, every program and every rider is different. Kenny is so darned naturally strong he can push himself harder than most, but that’s not always the best way.
Right now he’s interviewing different trainers to figure out the best plan for the future. He’s also shopping for some land of his own down in central Florida, with hopes of building his own tracks. While many expect him to end up riding at Ricky Carmichael’s Farm up in Tallahassee, Kenny’s changed a lot over the last year or so (moved to Florida, got with Aldon and then split, new team, etc.), so it seems best for him to stay in the area he’s come to know and like.
Kenny’s father is back in the picture, too, but he’ll serve more as coach than trainer. Every rider at this level knows a structured, scientific training program is key, and Kenny’s going to find the perfect one for him. In the meantime, some of the Red Bull folks have given him some guidance on what to do for now, so he doesn’t have to rush into a program just to be ready to race.
So, long term, Roczen, still just 20 years old, continues to plant seeds that will help him grow as a racer and an athlete. As for this year’s championship, well, Kenny dropped this on his Instagram feed after Atlanta: “If u think I m gonna give up. YOU ARE WRONG!!”
Expect this second Atlanta to work out a whole lot better for Ken than this last one.
