Pro Athletes V Speedway Riders V I Am Getting Old

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

I have touched on this subject before and this is just my opinion but this is how I am seeing modern day speedway .Current speedway seems to be pushing this fitness fuelled pro athlete sport as the way ,now im not saying being fit is a bad thing and you do need to be reasonably fit to race or at least race fit but the modern riders seem too be pushing the fit thing like its the be all and end all and that as far as I am concerned as a fan is not what speedway is , speedway is and always will be a common mans sport with real ordinary blokes that the fans feel like they can bond with, I overheard a conversation last week on the train about football and this guy was talking about how footballers were real hard men and they would take hard knocks and just get up and the fans loved them and I think this is the same as speedway .when I keep reading this fitness crap I just keep thinking this is not the sport I love, this is something else ,it feels like they are doing another sport ,a different sport that I raced and now watch , maybe this is the future of speedway and my view of it is dated but I don't like it and I don't want to become another one of the masses who have deserted the sport , I really do feel this is pushing apart the gap between rider and fans and the further it goes away the less the fans feel part of their sport , just think to yourself about your speedway hero from the past ,was he a real ordinary bloke with an amazing talent that you felt was just you , the more I think about this the more I feel like a fossil and that speedway has moved on and I haven't and right now we have the last few real riders left and the next generation of riders will just be lost to me. where are the Alan Grahame, Arthur price Jim tebby's of the sport? not sure I got across my view perfectly here but you get the point I am trying to make

[BWitcher]

I get your point Dean, but I disagree with it.

 

I can't for one moment think that any fan will lose interest in the sport if they think riders are working hard on their fitness.

 

I don't believe being 'fit' is something that fans can't associate with either, quite the opposite in fact. Anyone can head off to the gym and train like Tai Woffinden or Nicki Pedersen etc.. they can't just jump on a bike and race.

[daveallan81]

It used to be a sport for men, now it's a sport for men who use grooming products...

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

I get your point Dean, but I disagree with it.

 

I can't for one moment think that any fan will lose interest in the sport if they think riders are working hard on their fitness.

 

I don't believe being 'fit' is something that fans can't associate with either, quite the opposite in fact. Anyone can head off to the gym and train like Tai Woffinden or Nicki Pedersen etc.. they can't just jump on a bike and race.

it hard to get the point across I am trying to make , they are trying to be this pro athlete and that's not what speedway riders were and fans loved them for it , do they now ? as I said im getting old and the sport isn't the animal it was and is starting distance me from it Edited February 6, 2017 by THE DEAN MACHINE

[E I Addio]

Years ago I attended a fans forum held by the motor cycle club I belonged to at the time. Alf Hagon was on the panel, although he was long retired from speedway and grass track racing by that stage. Alf was of course from an era when people didn't understand fitness in the way that do now and motorcycle racers in that era didn't generally train other than riding the bike, but at the time the forum was held the idea of fitness was becoming prominent.

 

Alf was asked about the importance of fitness and he drew a comparison between himself and Barry Briggs who was of course the first speedway rider to take physical fitness seriously, long before anyone else did. Alf's answer was that it was more important to ride with your head he had raced Briggo many times and at the end of the race Briggo who had put heart and soul into it was, more or less hanging off the bike in exhaustion but Alf had hardly broken sweat. Now, that response may be a bit of an exaggeration but I think maybe today's riders concentrate too much on fitness and not enough on using their head. Tai Woofinden and Greg Hancock are perhaps the exceptions who both have very smooth styles but one has too wonder whether some the others could find an easier way than the two wheeled acrobatics they perform. In short I think many riders see working in the gym as a short cut to making up what they lack on the track.

 

I also remember seeing a film clip of Briggo being interviewed about his fitness regime. His take on it was that it didn't necessarily make him any better but it kept him at the top longer, and I think there probably is a lot of sense in that.

[longlivefrankie]

I sort of agree, when I starting losing interest I sat down and tried to figure out why. One thing that struck em was how skilful I thought riders were in the 60s 70s 80s etc but not necessarily the fittest. And the conclusion I came to that speedway was trying to hard to be a top end motor sport with the riders striving to be superfit etc and have top end equipment. And the likes of ally golden, Jim tebby, wouldn't survive on pure skill anymore mores the pity. Often those riders were my! Favourites dos u knew they were using every inch of experience & skill to try & beat often younger better equipped men. Also the characters & entertainers seem few & far between these days as a ell.

 

I think speedway used to thrive on these characters

[martin_t]

Better being fit than advertising cigarettes.

 

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[Falcon Hammer]

Problem is everyone trying to get that edge, certainly can improve your mental strength - can only seeing it getting more popular TBH

 

One of my favourite FB pictures was Darcy, after his ban, in the gym looking totally lost - got so much stick from other riders

[topaz325]

Arthur Price.

[waiheke1]

It's not just speedway though, it's every sport. You don't get cricketers or rugby players with beer bellies these days, you don't get footballers who drink a dozen pints after a game.

So yes I agree that all sports people are becoming less like "your average bloke", but at the same time if a sports person did neglect that side of things you can be sure they would get grief from fans if under performing.

Just as if someone turned up with only one bike and suffered regular mechanical issues they'd get a hard time from the same supporters who want a return to the old days when riders spent far less on bikes and maintenance.

[Bald Bloke]

I bet a 16,17 and beyond Mike Lee didn't train at all

 

I was at Lynn when Lee came back after the ban.Don't remember the year.He turned up with his leathers in a carrier bag.He did six laps and came into the pits where I was standing and said to his" man " The Jawa is flat all the way.The GM not. .He had done 6 laps and wasn't even breathing heavy.

Edited February 6, 2017 by Bald Bloke

[waiheke1]

I'd say also as ei Addio alluded to earlier, today's top riders can stay at the top much longer.

[Jonny the spud]

Everyone who's switched on is keeping fit not just athletes, also the fitter you are the quicker injuries heal.

[FAST GATER]

IMO if riders wish to ride past their mid 30's and stay at the top fitness is essential ,Hancock proves that as did PK it all gets that little bit harder as time goes on sadly !!!!!!!!!!!

[THE DEAN MACHINE]

I'm not saying they shouldnt be fit in just saying all this fitness stuff is taking away the point of why the fans loved riders in the first place , I know a couple of riders who hate training and don't do it and they are no better or worse riders for it , personally if I had to train i would never of got on a bike in the first place , I wasn't a better rider than I was because I hit my talent level not because I wasn't any fitter ,you want to be a better rider go to peter John's and then go to a head shrink cause they are what you need to win

Edited February 6, 2017 by THE DEAN MACHINE

[Shale Searcher]

Gone are the days when if riders didn't have their helmets on, they were puffing away on a Woodbine!!

 

Can't remember the last rider I saw smoke.... Yes I can, it was Simon Lambert....

 

Being fitter has to help, even if it's just to help "arm pump" or help you breathe better, more effectively....

 

I packed in smoking 4 years ago, albeit with the help of an ecig..

 

I needed to get from the pits bend to the 4th bend at Leicester after a bad smash, think Woffy was involved, by the time I arrived, I was f****d! Could barely do anything I was so out of breath.!!

 

I believe it must improve a riders chances, performance if they are fit, but I don't think being super fit is necessary, looking at some riders today, there's nowt to them, light as feathers, can't help them when they fall, I'm sure that contributes to the number of broken bones these days..

[Vince]

I can see where you're coming from but personally I like the idea that success at Speedway comes from dedication and that is visible when it comes to fitness.

 

It's always taken dedication but the fans can't see hours spent in the workshop or travelling but they can see if you can't be bothered to keep fit and if you don't you are giving something away to those who do.

[waiheke1]

I bet a 16,17 and beyond Mike Lee didn't train at all

 

I was at Lynn when Lee came back after the ban.Don't remember the year.He turned up with his leathers in a carrier bag.He did six laps and came into the pits where I was standing and said to his" man " The Jawa is flat all the way.The GM not. .He had done 6 laps and wasn't even breathing heavy.

Surely Mike lee is the prime example of someone who should have spent more time in the gym, if only to keep him out of trouble! Similar to Darcy, both naturally skinny blokes, who would have achieved so much more had they been as dedicated as other less gifted riders. Time in the gym may not habr made those two better riders but as much as anything the gym work is surely part of the psychological preparation and cutting out vices that may impact on your career on the long term.

[steve roberts]

Ivan Mauger used to sometimes train with Manchester City but his requirement was to adopt a sleep pattern and he adopted a routine that enabled him to do so to keep his mind and body sharp.

Edited February 7, 2017 by steve roberts

[speedibee]

I'm not saying they shouldnt be fit in just saying all this fitness stuff is taking away the point of why the fans loved riders in the first place , I know a couple of riders who hate training and don't do it and they are no better or worse riders for it , personally if I had to train i would never of got on a bike in the first place , I wasn't a better rider than I was because I hit my talent level not because I wasn't any fitter ,you want to be a better rider go to peter John's and then go to a head shrink cause they are what you need to win

they spend so much time in the gym and on the phone , then turn up with unreliable crappy bikes .Unless they are spoilt like a few and daddy employs somebody to do all the dirty work . you're better off out of it Dean , rather than spend too much time with spoilt and precocious 15 year olds who think because they wear dark glasses and a t shirt with no sleeves and a tail they are something special