Ryan Villopoto - A Champion - Part 2

dig as deep as I can Oh it was almost like watching a dream like it was in slow motion the bike flipping through the air and you don't see crashes like that very often he just was holding this leg and we know it wasn't good villopoto broke his tibia and fibula in the crash and would have to be flown to Seattle so a specialist could reconstruct his ankle with five plates and 47 screws the six-month recovery process would be the most difficult period of villopoto's career him laying in the hospital bed for so long he withered away trying to stay off the painkillers so that he didn't get addicted to that the pain and how long it took and a therapy he had to go through I mean you question if he was even ever going to want to ride a bike again the power that our bikes are making the speeds that were going the difficulty of the tracks things that can go wrong the only thing that goes through my head is injury actually getting hurt you know badly racing Supercross you have to stay sharp you can't not be on the bike so your risk factor is at an all-time high all the time a great opportunity showed up Ryan calls me he says hey Eldon's not working with James no more and I can work with him what do you think I had worked with Belden with James and I said it's a no-brainer he's the best guy in the sport and he's proven did it with Ricky did it with James if you have this opportunity you need to jump on it now before someone else does when Ryan approached me I was actually worried that didn't think he had the physical capabilities anymore to do the job right I took him to a specialist that actually love to have and ran tests to see if that foot was going to be enough motion enough feel the body forgets pain I forgot by the time I was able to start walking in well when can I ride temper guilt visit trust factor to that he has to trust me at first he was little like I not ever I really don't know I looked him in the eyes and I said I think it can be ready and that's probably there anytime you could see he actually believed Villopoto and Baker began training together just three months before the start of the 2011 Supercross season Ryan Dungey came into 2011 fresh off a supercross title outdoor title and motocross of Nations victory Chad Reed came into the year on a team built around himself and James Stewart was out to prove that he could beat his former trainer going into Anaheim 2011 no one expected anything after Ryan broke his leg so bad everyone was saying now he's done he's career-ending his competitors stay in it from round one to round ten in Indianapolis Villopoto was the most dominant rider in the series winning five races but as twenty six point lead in the championship would shrink dramatically by round 16 in Salt Lake City leaving Chad Reed Ryan Dungey and James Stewart all with the shot at the title we went to Salt Lake Ryan he was kind of in a weird mood that day and my temper was getting short an autonomous said this is it if you're going to be a champion you need to make this happen Ryan Villopoto has just set the fastest lap of the main event so Villopoto now Miley's come - life here is down there goes go to the checkered flag Slean confidence went back up again going into vegas he had a cushion brought the championship home gym pionship villopoto's first supercross championship propelled him to arguably the most successful year ever experienced by a supercross racer in the following months Villopoto won the outdoor national championship led Team USA to a motocross of Nations victory and completed a three race sweep at the inaugural Monster Energy Cup his million-dollar reward was the largest prize for a single race in the history of the sport it's a lot of work as a lot of risk involved when I win everybody that in my group wins from my mechanic to my wife to my trainer it takes work from all of us and when we do when there's nothing better while 2011 was the most successful year of villopoto's career he was still estranged from his family his parents brother and sister merely watched from the outside over to hard years oh yeah it was pretty nasty w kamini a bitter hurt right off totally of crying me crying every day it's pretty that's my kid it would make my life easier if I were just the best guy and I won every time you just go through your life and be relatively easy you wouldn't second guess or think about really anything but to know that you have to show up every weekend ready to race and not only race but it's gonna be a brawl other guys are gonna be right there Chad or Ryan that wears on you in 2011 Ryan Villopoto won every championship he entered as the 2012 season opener at Anaheim approached a second straight Supercross Championship was the expectation the bike was better he was better and we were just building 2011 was coming off that injury we was able to win everything so we went in Anaheim and came out winning all shot go to the number one ryan villa photo and he's making a big following his victory at Anaheim Ryan Dungey James Stewart and Chad Reed each found the top step of the podium at the next three rounds never before in the history of Supercross had four former champions won consecutive races to start the season the speeds kept going up and up and up because these guys were just pushing each other to the limit Dallas when Chad was riding right on Ryan through a wheel Ryan had told me he was going as hard as he could but he said if they both rode that pace someone was going to go down so he was just about to let him by the crash in Dallas would end read season with a torn ACL it was the continuation of the season marked by injuries at Los Angeles Trey Kinard had been eliminated from the title hunt with a broken back Ryan Dungy would break his collarbone at practice and James Stewart would suffer a series of crashes and injuries throughout the season and this championship takes another with eight victories Villopoto wrapped up his second consecutive Supercross title at round 13 in Houston never had a rider clinched the championship so early in the 40-year history of the sport it was a huge thing for a Ryan to do the last time someone won back-to-back titles was Ricky Carmichael two rounds after clinching the title the series moved to villopoto's hometown Seattle but the main event would see the end of the most dominant stretch of Ryan's career the first time carrying the number one and he is rolling off the track wash the front end out but his leg was already stuck to the ground so his legs stayed one way and the front tire went that way that angle just popped his knee on Bryan's second ACL replacement would be his third major surgery in four years training is the only effective injury prevention method in Supercross and the only way to keep up with your competition stay here with victory when Ryan Dungey returned from his broken collarbone he won the final two races of the Supercross season and Davi Millsaps was able to finish a career best second in the series villopoto's trainer Alden Baker put him on a bicycle three days after his surgery beginning an eight month campaign to Supercross in 2013 no cell phones in the dojo no dojo means what does it mean jacob places Thank You massa place of learning now let's learn how to get fit remember when he said we do 100 pushups can we knock out of the gym and I said bring it on he did 9999 and we went to the gym just a fond memory than I had he hates to Train he doesn't get out there and say no one would go ride my bike today I'm gonna come back pump out some minutes on the rower and then head to the track he dreads it you ain't got the shoulders for that you can barely hold your arms up for this and now you want to go luck on me with it what was that Irish car that he used to challenge you look like Edgar Hadden then he got on to alcoholism from 2000 to 2006 professional cyclist Alden Baker trained Ricky Carmichael to five Supercross championships incessant training has been the norm among Supercross riders ever since 15 minutes are you free you said you'd understand I'm gonna flick ooh that may that wax out of you is yeah he did ruin the sport early 90s they were racing and hanging out and having a good time all the time I think they did train but it's not to what it is now today a Supercross rider must be able to maintain a heart rate 93 to 95 percent of its capacity for the entire 20 minutes of a race come on numbers that resemble the cardiovascular capabilities of endurance cyclists requiring a training regimen capable of straining any relationship you have short no Center you can't count rest when we're in the gym dynami come and beat you up now we can fight if you want oh I did I'll work the other side if we didn't have these blowouts or fights and somebody's doing something wrong because it's too easy then I guess whether he hates it or he doesn't hate it Ryan beats because Elden is taken over for what his dad is now wouldn't care who fits ryan villopoto not Eldon's gonna come in there and do his job and they're the best at what he does it's changed Ryan's career yeah it hasn't been that bad for you I told you you sit on the couch do a little program work come here boss everybody around okay see start oh yeah Ryan 15 go back home tea and crumpets and back at it again boys that's right that's why I'll be lining up with a one we're not lining up for you in it then when I fail your life and then you'll be mad at me that'll be an understatement although Ryan Villopoto is the most successful Supercross racer of his generation his most dominant years were spent with strained relationships with his parents brother and sister but things began to change throughout the process of rehabbing his latest injury and training for the 2013 Supercross season it was pretty bad and talked to him for eight months here and then would try and then you know things get bad I went on for a couple months and then try again and talked to Ryan for three years when I was 13 when I was 16 not one word I think the first birthday present I got from him was this necklace and I remember I got it and I just started bawling my eyes out because I was like oh my god he likes me next summer I went to see him in Florida and I think that's when the rebuilding started to happen it was his way of reaching out to us in the summer of 2012 Villopoto increased his support of his younger brother Tyler's racing program and later that year invited his parents to live in his second home in Southern California giving his father the opportunity to serve as Tyler's practice bike mechanic and participate in Ryan's daily racing routine I'm proud that he's grown up to be the man he is that didn't go the practice tracks for about two and a half years and now I started going to the practice tracks really got to see how focused he is on his training and he's pretty good he's real good this year actually when he got back from his knee surgery the first day back was unreal I swear when he was hurt he got faster yeah we are the day before and a ha one everything comes to this day we're just going over our bases just a little bit of endurance a little bit of speed stuff starts they are ready and they know they've put in all the work there's nothing more that we could have done I expected the famous title we are in the best place we have ever been I don't know how it lifts you're going to get out that little thing and go double and then go where the guys are standing go from there and then three and return injuries and most Supercross careers before the age of 30 and the monetary rewards of professional racing will seldom guarantee security after retirement facts that drive the search for safer faster racing lines during a track walk the pursuit of optimal suspension settings on their machines and animosity towards other competitors maybe some boxing I see they truly have like you know some hate that's basically what it is here we don't talk to each other we all know our sports Shore it's not NASCAR we don't have a cage more money you can make better you're off in the end I want to leave it at two softer God right in the next practice come back Cochise dipper and then open it up from 2009 to now it's a huge difference in his attitude and how serious he takes the actual bike part of it two out nobody knows but Ryan how hard he's hitting that jump are the actual feeling that's coming through his hands or his feet if you're just watching with your eyes and guessing it's impossible to win at this level can't avoid in your belly babbler 255 out it was 56 - like I was gonna come slow down he had him so fast well if you watch practice he was awesome I think he's gonna win that's my boy 2013 will be villopoto's first 450 class season with his family integrated into his life but the satisfaction that phat greens has no place in the mind of a racer we hired for one reason and that reason is to win you must become numb how hard it was to get to where we are now injuries we have to stay so fit the day of the race we have three different autograph signings and then three practices everything you deal with everything you go through and it's become numb to certain things Ryan's not some outgoing character that's gonna be from the Camrys the best guy says all the right things that's probably never gonna be Ryan Ryan's a racer and a champion angel state no I did miss out on a lot during my childhood because Ryan's is racing every weekend and people say all the time because the bad end of the deal but my eyes I didn't because I got to see my brother do something that he loves I got to see him be something great who's gonna get this job Millsaps grabs him finally we see no Emoto Pato is 12 has got a lot of work to do here green Kawasaki with the red the tracklist naked come on bill ryan villopoto came to the first race at Anaheim hoping to begin his campaign for a third straight Supercross Championship a feat that would put him among the top three riders in the history of the sport Brian started the race in 13th slid off the track on lap 4 and was battling for seventh with James Stewart on lap eight Villopoto alongside histo he's whipping Pato because he get back to his bike it's going to be between these two for the win has more to is just gone for that frenum make it tough ladies after a second crash Brian finished the race in 16 without his right glove and goggles I never seen anything like that of the 57 450 Supercross class races Villopoto has started and completed it was the second worst finish of his career at a whole year did we've been in worse positions really really frustrating to know what he has in the tank and what he is capable of and it just sees such a mess here the reigning two-time Supercross Champion you need to focus on you you should dealt with him quickly and this was like maybe five years ago I probably would have been in there what'd you do what'd you do he's hard on himself so he doesn't need me to pour gas on the fire I'm the good side is he finish he got some points most guys that are riding around without one glove and goggles and everything else would quit he looks unbelievable to practice trailing the corners like no other I'm like I was seen making it because he was going to pass it's not over he can come back from this Villopoto left the opening round 20 points behind race winner Davi Millsaps in order to become the fourth rider in history to win three straight Supercross championships he will have to close that gap in the upcoming rounds the same night Ryan finished 16th his younger brother Tyler did not qualify for the opening round of the amsoil Arenacross series Tyler is trying to revive his racing career after a four-year hiatus you need to go around the corner faster instead of like slowing down slamming it like that that takes all your momentum away on a daily basis the Villopoto family will work together and share their evenings for the first time in two years is it worth it yeah I think it's worth it I'll just be a part of it and you know everyone tells me oh you're living the dream I must be living the dream I am I would never have thought I would race a motorcycle again in my life I'm here to tell me that a year and a half ago out of there they probably got mad at you because you're saying things that I wish could happen I really can't explain how excited I am that things are shaping up in looking positive for our family a couple years where nobody was there you could see there was a void the Christmas thing that's all he ever wanted was that scene my prayers were answered I used to pray for this every night like just I just want like a normal family like it's P together so people have problems and struggles so this is normal everybody knows that everybody's family is not perfect Ryan Villopoto will labor for the coming years and likely will continue as a sent to Supercross greatness but no matter the extent of his status as an icon happiness will only come from those who know Ryan for his humanity I look forward to the day that he's not the racer yeah I don't want to see him get hurt anymore and he's just you know a kid you

Channel: MediaReborn

Views: 3,339,639

Rating: 4.7865572 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: 9xz_aRcbK2w

Length: 21min 56sec (1316 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 12 2013