2019 Houston Supercross | Monday Kickstart

2019 Houston Supercross | Monday Kickstart 

Presented by Thor

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Webb’s Home Stretch

It’s hard to believe that the 2019 Monster Energy Supercross Series is already in the home stretch. Following this weekend’s action-packed Triple Crown in Houston, Texas’ NRG Stadium, we’ve only got four stops left: Nashville, Denver, New Jersey, and Las Vegas! The title chase in the premier division has certainly been exciting with five different winners, but it is Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb who has risen to the top with an amazing six main event wins, including his most recent in Texas.

What makes Webb’s dominant performances even more impressive are the struggles he had during his first two years in the 450 class. Haunted with injuries and paired with a bike he simply could not get comfortable on, Webb changed almost everything about his program for 2019 and man what a difference it has made. 

AC Struggles

Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo came into Houston with momentum on his side. Following his dominant win in Seattle, AC set the fastest qualifying time of the day in Texas and backed his pole position up with a seemingly easy win in the first main event of the night. After that, it all fell apart for Cianciarulo, much in the way it did for him at the Anaheim Two Triple Crown. The harder he seemed to try, the worse things seemed to get. A strange crash in the second main event of the night saw AC nearly come into contact with Troy Lee Designs/Red Bull/KTM rider Sean Cantrell over the bling tabletop following the finish, and he was nearly struck by Gas Monkey rider Justin Starling who should be commended for his quick braking skills. Another crash in the third main event left AC playing catch up from the start, and it was a miracle he was able to pull off fourth overall with a tremendous come-from-behind ride for third in the last race. Five points separate AC and Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Dylan Ferrandis, who earned his second win in a row in Houston. The series will take one week off and resume in Denver, Colorado.

Roczen’s Woes

Things were looking great for Team Honda HRC’s Ken Roczedn in Houston. The German set the fastest qualifying time of the day and backed it up with a start to finish romp in the opening main event. Roczen looked smooth and fast and full of confidence. It was not meant to be, however, as he crashed into the back of another rider at the start of the second main event and withdrew with a suspected broken ankle and a smashed big toe. A quick trip into the Alpinestars Mobile Medical Unit revealed no fractures, so Roczen taped up his ankle and fought through the pain to finish eighth in the last main to salvage as many points as possible. We checked with Roczen on Sunday and he reported that the ankle should not be a big issue come next weekend in Nashville. We’re anxious to see Roczen return to the top step of the podium…