The grind is real for "Filthy" Phil Nicoletti, who is back on a bike and trying to recover in time to make the last few rounds of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Luckily, even between motos, he's able to answer your questions. We don't think he's happy about it, but what else is new?
Got a question for Phil Nicoletti? Send it to Phil@racerxonline.com.
(Note: Some questions have been lightly edited for clarity.)
Hi Phil,
I wanted to send some positivity your way about your injury heal-up choice. I’ve been battered and broken perhaps a little more than your average MX Joe. Anyhow, I was in a similar spot with a shoulder break back in 1997 and my doctor guy at the time was big on the no-surgery route if possible. Which was saying something because he was a high-profile shoulder surgeon. One day when I was in the lobby at his office, Paul Molitor was sitting across the way (MLB Hall of Famer). From this injury I had about a three-quarter inch gap to heal between the broken bones. He wanted me to try and see if the body could get it done, and my body did get it done, but it took some time. Realistically it was close to six months before I felt 100 percent. That was a long time ago and I haven’t had any problems with it since then. His point at the time was that avoiding surgery, if possible, was better for long-term health of the joint and specifically nerve damage and arthritis. So even though it sucks to be on the sidelines for longer than you would have been had you had surgery, things may still turn out well with that injury in the long run. Hopefully that is the case.
Cheers,
Josh in North Mankato MN
Josh,
Thank you mate, I appreciate it. Like I said in last week’s column, it’s really hard to go against a doctor, because they are supposed to have your best interests, right? Wrong. They make a lot more money off surgeries than they do with two-week X-ray updates. It’s a shame it is like that. I’ve had multiple circumstances where no surgery has been better with my knees, collarbones, and now my forearm. Again, it’s really hard to question some doctors opinions, but it’s in your best interest to search and be aware.
Phil,
I just saw the official news of Troll’s [Alex Martin] retirement. Man, what a journey the two of you have had together! I have been a super fan of the two of you since the first time you were both on the PulpMX Show together years ago. Did he ask your advice on the decision, was it a difficult decision and (most importantly) how fat will he get?
We will miss him for sure…which leads to my question for you, how much do you have left in the tank? You were looking great before the injury; can you give us couple more years? I would sure love to see you crush one more outdoor season.
Thanks for being genuinely “Phil” over the years.
Jimmy G
Jimmy,
It is quite sad, because we both been through the ringer with sport. Good times and some horrible ones. Troll Daddy told me a few months back, around halfway through supercross, that this was going to be the end. To be quite honest, we always say we are going to retire after we get hurt really bad or have a massive get off. That’s a common statement from most of us. But when he told me that this was it, and his heart wasn’t into it anymore or the grind, then I knew he meant it 100 percent. Because for him and I it has always been the grind that kept us going for all the years, even when there wasn’t a paycheck. So I respected his decision. At that time I was really looking forward to racing him these 12 round of outdoors, and enjoying the ride until I got hurt. I’m excited to race with him the last four to say we finally got to race each other after all these years.
As for myself, I’ll go for as long as I enjoy the suffer and grind. It hasn’t left me yet. After my crash in Atlanta, I really contemplated if it was worth it. But in the end, I still feel like I’m strong enough physically and mentally to keep going. I won’t keep going and do SX only deal. I enjoy the outdoors and the suffer that it brings. So it’ll be indoor and outdoor for myself if I plan to keep going in the States. I did my first national in 2006 at Broome Tioga after Loretta’s. That was 17 years ago. To think it was that long ago for me is crazy! Obviously, I signed on with ClubMX for another year, and have awesome companies and people that have supported me for many years to be competitive (FXR, 6D Helmets, Motosport). I’ll go has long as I can, but that has to be a full year with outdoors. As soon as I can’t handle the outdoor grind, it’s over for me.
Phil,
I heard you on Pulp talking about sand motos at ClubMX this week with Cooper Webb. Can you tell us about this experience here? It’s really weird to hear two-time supercross champions deal with the same stuff the rest of us do.
Larry
Larry,
If you think guys like myself, A-Mart, or CW2 don’t have to deal with the same mental and physical battles an average Joe does, then I don’t know what to tell you. The mental and physical suffer is the same. We endure the same problems, just with a slight faster lap time maybe. Now I’ll give you this: Coop and Troll might suffer a little more with the mental capacity with certain life things! Hahahahaha. There are some days I wonder how Coop is a five-time champion! They best part about is that he owns it and accepts that he struggles daily. So this week we did our motos, and Coop hasn’t been riding a whole lot, just enough to keep his hands from getting blisters and what not. But when it comes down to the suffer, his mental capacity to block that shit out and push through it is next level. It’s simply amazing. We both were on the verge of puking, but neither one of us was going to let the other go. Actually, we both might have puked a little bit, but that’s part of it. Yeah, the suffer is the same, no matter the lap time.
