Grant Langston’s heart was racing. It had nothing to do with the boisterous crowd in Sacramento, Calif., at the finish line, nor with it being the first motocross race of the 2005 season.
His adrenaline was pumping after looking at his left ankle.
Coming around the final corner and just 50 feet from the finish line, Langston and Michael Alessi were jostling for position. Langston, who had position on the inside corner, planted his left foot and turned sharply to the left. So did Alessi. The riders crashed, with Langston’s left foot caught in a rut, twisting violently.
His foot was pointing 90 degrees outward.
“I was just thinking about finishing, I was so close,” Langston said. “But when I got up, my ankle gave way. I realized it was a major problem.”
Limping, he picked up his bike and rode the final stretch to victory ahead of Alessi.
Langston was fortunate. He had only a dislocated ankle.
Come Sunday at the American Motorcyclist Association Motocross Championships in Lakewood, riders will be putting their bodies on the line. Despite the inherent dangers of the sport – zipping their bikes across rough terrain at up to 60 mph and cartwheeling in the air – riders all but dismiss the fear factor.
Typical is the comment of 22-year-old Andrew Short, a rising AMA star.
“As much as I’ve ridden, I’ve been lucky to not have as many injuries as the other guys,” he said, after which he cited a broken right leg, collarbone and left wrist among his badges of honor.
The AMA does not keep track of the number of injuries to riders in professional racing. But there have been severe injuries, including paralysis. There also has been one recorded death in motocross’ counterpart, supercross, but talk about the dangers usually are brushed aside.
Ask any rider about injuries and the next question usually is, “Where do I start?” Common are dislocated shoulders, fractured collarbones, torn anterior cruciate ligaments, shattered wrists and broken legs.
In a sport in which shattering one’s femur in 12 places at age 12 and being told by doctors riding is out of the question, going to work every day has its risks. Langston, 23, is one rider not afraid to admit his fears of a serious injury.
“I have had the fear of being paralyzed,” he said. “If anything, I want to quit because I feel like it and not because I (have) to. You always have to worry about those things.”
The danger isn’t always just in the crashes. Fall behind early and riders can expect to eat roost – a healthy serving of rocks and twigs, flying debris kicked up from an opponent’s rear tire.
Some riders wear Kevlar foam or a chest protector under their racing gear. Others, like Alessi, elect not to for comfort reasons but feel the pain afterward.
“I get these red spots and bruises that last for three days,” Alessi said. “It’s like I got shot by a shotgun and I was peppered on my chest, stomach and arms.”
If roost doesn’t get riders, arm pump might. Arm pump is an inflation of the forearms from gripping the handlebar too tightly, causing muscles to compress. Some riders call the sensation of arm pump the “worst thing in the world.”
Riders often use the time they are hanging in the air during jumps to shake off the tightness. But most of the time, they endure the pain.
“Once you get it, it never goes away,” Chris Gosselaar said. “It feels like someone is squeezing your arm as tight as they can.”
Heatstroke is another factor riders have to contend with, because of the sweltering heat and the amount of gear they must wear.
“It can be really bad,” said David Vuillemin, who suffered from heatstroke during a competition in Minnesota this summer.
To help prevent injuries, riders work year-round to stay in shape. Trainer Eddie Casillas sees firsthand how much skill and dedication it takes to be a top-flight motocross rider.
He describes riders as needing “the skill of a helicopter pilot because of the hand-eye coordination, the tenacity of a pro rodeo rider, the strength and agility of a gymnast, and the physical conditioning of a lead road cyclist.”
And, as Langston could tell him, courage.
Staff writer Bryan Chu can be reached at 303-820-1979 or bchu@denverpost.com.
