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Blake Baggett | Discussing Summer Struggles

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INSTAGRAM | @blakebaggett4

There’s no denying that Blake Baggett’s summer has not gone the way he hoped. The Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM rider has shown signs of his speed at different times this year, including in his career-first Supercross Main Event win and then a dominant start-to-finish victory in Moto One at High Point. But that win is the only podium finish to his credit this summer, an outstanding anomaly for an accomplished outdoor rider. What is the cause of the problem? Baggett says it’s not a secret injury or setup struggle, just a feeling of being off when the gate drops.

You’ve had moments with really good rides this summer, but other days that were not so great. It seems like it all traces back to that hard crash at round two. Would I be wrong to assume that?

I think something is just off, really. I’ve had some good motos here and there, and the hard crash at Pala set me back a little bit, but before that, we were struggling. We were struggling with four rounds to go in Supercross and just been fighting something. Not really sure what it is, but one of those things where you don’t feel good, physically. It’s a thing with me, not the bike. The bike setup is good, you can see that when you have a good day. Like High Point’s first moto, it’s still there. The bike is awesome, I just have to figure myself out and don’t have an answer to it. When you don’t feel good and don’t feel strong, there’s no real answer to it.

During the week are you riding much, or are you just resting to let things sort out?

No, definitely not riding as much, but just to keep some seat time on the bike. I’m not putting in the long motos and things like that. I’m just trying to figure out what’s going to bring back the feel-good vibe.

Is it an issue where one certain area of your body feels wrong or more like everything in your body feels like it’s working together?

It’s more of the body not feeling that good. I don’t know if it’s worn down, but it’s something that started to come about, and it got worse and worse. Some days I feel fine and other days, it’s not so good. I was thinking it’s a full-time thing, but it’s hit and miss. Without High Point, I would be really concerned. It’s still in there, I can do it, so I don’t feel like it’s mental. It’s just one of those things where the body doesn’t feel good for some reason. You don’t feel like you’re ready to go. You try training more and you try training less, and nothing seems to be fixing it.

High Point had to be huge. You started out well and two laps in, it was clear that you were going to go away with it. That was a great ride and it had to build some confidence.

Yeah, that side of things I feel good with. I haven’t changed the bike since then, so it’s been all body. The second moto, I just felt off. I didn’t feel that good and it continued on from there. My starts have been good and I’ve led a few laps, but even that day, I didn’t feel great. That was one of those motos when things clicked.

You have 29 races through the season to make everything happen. So, when you have one or two or five bad days, how do you not let yourself get beaten down? Do you just chalk it to bad motos or do you start to think, “Oh, shit we have a problem?”

Depends on how bad it goes [Laughs]. Yeah, sometimes you have to assess the situation quickly and other times you look at it like, “Well, I can’t be my best every day.”

You’re locked into a long-term deal with the team, so you can get through this last part of the summer, get to the offseason, and get things sorted out for 2020. You’ve been around long enough and know that you can win indoors and outdoors, so it’s all about things lining up.

Yeah, that would be the ideal plan. But we’re still in it for these last few rounds. The championship is out of reach, of course, but I try to make things interesting. That’s the whole goal. To win races by the end of the year would be nice, we just have to see.

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Michael Antonovich

Michael Antonovich has a wealth of experience with over 10 years of moto-journalism under his belt. A lifelong racing enthusiast and rider, Anton is the Editor of Swapmoto Live and lives to be at the race track.

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1 Comment

  1. Tonic July 27, 2019

    Genuinely feel like Antonovich is one of the best if not the best moto journalists. The writing is great journalism (and not self-referential like one of the other sites). I think it ends up being higher quality content. Keep it coming!

    Bummer for Baggett. One of few riders that can say he’s been on the podium indoors and out this year.