Ken Roczen’s supercross comeback—from heartbreak and the abyss, and 31 points down—created the story of every fan’s dream

WORDS: JASON WEIGANDT
PHOTOS: ALIGN MEDIA

A dozen years ago, we penned a story for this magazine on Ken Roczen’s rapid rise up the 450 ranks. When the 19-year-old captured the AMA Pro Motocross Championship in his rookie season of 2014, we called it “German Summer,” a nod to both the German-born Roczen’s run and his home country winning that summer’s FIFA Soccer World Cup. Roczen brought a different kind of international flair to this sport. He was from Europe, but he didn’t seem like it. He was universally praised and accepted.