The key to victory in this year’s Pro Motocross Championship? Fitness. Same as it ever was.

WORDS: JASON WEIGANDT
PHOTOS: ALIGN MEDIA

Maybe we’ve been over-thinking it. This sport has evolved quite a bit through the years, with better bikes, more refined riding techniques, and the latest scientific advancements. Yet, this year’s 250 and 450 AMA Pro Motocross Championships were won the same way, two riders who were the strongest when the going got tough, as in, late in the motos and late in the races. That’s pretty much the same way it was when the sport started, and continued more often than realized through the years. Perhaps nothing is more telling than noting that perhaps the only weakness for this year’s 450 Pro Motocross Champion, Chase Sexton, was his starts. He had exactly one holeshot all year—and that’s when the gate was held extra-long at Unadilla.

But you don’t need every start when you can wear everyone else out before the finish. That’s the story of Pro Motocross in 2024.