Our own “Filthy” Phil Nicoletti has been sidelined for the remainder of the Lucas Oil AMA Pro Motocross Championship after he suffered a broken arm a couple weeks ago. It’s unfortunate we won’t see him behind the gate, but at least we still get to hear Phil’s hot takes on the sport as he answers more of your questions this week in another edition of UnPhiltered. Oh and Phil will be at Ironman Raceway to cheer on his buddy Alex Martin in his next to last national.
Got a question for Phil Nicoletti? Send it to Phil@racerxonline.com.
(Note: Some questions have been lightly edited for clarity.)
Phil,
It’s late in the year. How worn down do the riders actually feel? Like do you feel different in the morning waking up? Do your actual metrics on road bike rides or other training actually suffer after 10 months of wear and tear?
Alex
Colorado Springs
Alex,
At this point in the season, the accumulative fatigue is real. A lot of of the guys have so many 30-minute motos and sprints up to this point it’s unreal. So the gains in the week are very minimal. As of now, if it was me and my program, I would only be riding twice a week max. Sometimes depending how hot it is going to be during the week and on the weekend, it will only be one day. Wednesday is a prime day because it leaves enough recovery from the previous weekend, and the upcoming weekend. You want to ride just enough to stay loose, and comfortable on the bike. Not going into a hole. Especially if you're Eli Tomac or Chase Sexton. Saturday is the MOST important day for them. A Tuesday or Wednesday doesn’t mean shit, other than making sure starts are good and having a flow. Resting HARD is way more important than training hard right now. I know to most that sounds crazy with the old school mentality of “no pain, no gain.” The two weekends off really helped a lot of the guys. Because they can actually have a full down week. If they wanted to take a full week off from riding and training they could have without feeling guilty as if they were losing something. But some 450 guys are completely over it, but you know which two aren’t. The ones with over a million dollars on the line. So I can guarantee you they are blocking out the overall fatigue.
Haiden Deegan is turning pro! He’s my favorite rider and I think he’s gonna smash it. Do you know him and how do you think he will do?
38 Fan
I like little Deegan. I’ve ridden with him a few times at ClubMX. He seems motivated. I know how people expect big things, but it’s just a learning lesson for the kid. It’ll be a lot to take in. But at the time, it’s just two practices and two motos. Go ride the motos like a practice day. Learn the system, get nutrition down and learn what to eat. Stay away from as many people who want to talk as possible. Trust me, it’s draining as hell. You only have so much energy to expel and at 16 years old, you want that energy for the track. At least until you understand how to manage the time and energy through the day. I think he will be around the 8-13 mark. I can see him having moto scores like that. I wish the kid the best. Just go ride. Easier said than done though.
Hi Phil. It’s been fun hearing all the different commentators this summer talking riding techniques with guys like Chase Sexton and Jett Lawrence. Almost like it’s a new thing. Do you think there’s more emphasis on riding technique during training these days? You’re down at ClubMX so I’m sure that’s a big topic every day. Did guys focus on this as much when you were younger?
Mike the Bike
From Texas
Mike,
Unfortunately, I didn’t focus as much on technique as I should have when I was a kid. But back when I was a kid, we didn’t have the access to stuff like there is now. I was just going off what my dad was saying and reading from a magazine. It was much different in 2002 than it is in 2022! Everyone talks about the feet in the pegs and what not. Eli has been doing that for years. Many other guys have done that as well. Just now they are doing it at a phenomenal rate of speed. Doing that for myself at 70 percent speed is super easy and simple. Doing that at 100 percent speed is very difficult. People can preach it all day long, and show they can teach videos doing it at half-ass speeds. Yeaaaaa that’s cool, so can every Tom, Dick, and Harry on the 40-man gate riding at their 70 percent capacity. To do it like those top guys do at 100 percent, is so damn hard. I wish I could sit here and BS you and say I can, but I can accomplish that 20 percent of a lap. I still like the bulldog look on a dirt bike, IMO. But it’s awesome to see different styles work at the same speeds.
