Justin Bogle Announces Epstein Barr Diagnosis

August 19, 2019

On Monday morning following the 2019 Budds Creek Motocross, Justin Bogle made a post that gives some more insight to the Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM rider’s recent results in the 2019 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. Throughout the year Bogle has hinted his health has been a little less than ideal, but it was most telling in his ride in 450 Moto One at the eleventh round of the summer when he faded from the top spot at the start to 19th place at the checkered flag. The team told us that he threw up in the middle of the race and was too exhausted to line up for the second race later in the afternoon.

In the Instagram post, Bogle confirmed that he’s battled with the Epstein-Barr virus since the Supercross season and that recent races have caused the issue to become even worse, but because he is need of a contract with a team for 2020, he’s been unable to take the necessary time off for recovery and intends to line up this weekend at the final race of the summer.

Bogle was hired by the Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM team in late December after Benny Bloss suffered a torn ACL and was sidelined for the full Monster Energy Supercross season. Heat race wins and top-10 results by Bogle earned him a ride with the team for the remainder of the year, including the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship. Because Bloss missed the first three rounds and Blake Baggett is currently sidelined with a Staph infection of the sinuses and eye, Bogle has been the team’s top rider in the championship. No matter the outcome this weekend, Bogle will end the summer ranked ninth overall in the 450 point standings.

The Rocky Mountain ATV-MC/WPS/KTM team has used the last few races as the determining factor as to which rider will fill the second spot on the squad in 2020; Bloss has improved his results while Bogle has slipped due to the illness. We have been told that the team would like to find a way to field all three riders in 2020 and that it would come down to another sponsor coming on board to pay the cost. Baggett has a confirmed spot thanks to a multi-year contract that runs through 2021.

Bogle’s social media statement is posted in full below.

View this post on Instagram

Hey everyone, I wanted to let all of you know what’s been going on with me as my performances as of the last few races have been beyond embarrassing. Earlier this year, back at the beginning of Supercross my body started to feel super fatigued and I was not able to recover from race to race. After having some blood work done we found out that the Epstein Bar Virus was active in me, and my numbers were off the charts. So how do you fix EBV, well you rest. Unfortunatly for me, that was never a viable option. How does a fill-in rider take time off when I am trying to prove that I deserve to have a ride in the sport. Let me tell you, you don’t have that as an option. I had to back down my training and practice during the week to basically nothing at all, which is what I did to get through SX. In doing that the EBV number began to come down to moderate levels and my results in SX began to show that. Often in the last half of the SX series I would be on the board in timed practice and we won a couple of heat races with some top five finishes in the main. When the MX series started we knew it would be a struggle because I have been unable to ride any 35 minute motos all year. The only time I’ve ridden that long is at the races. Having won national motos and an overall, this is no way to be prepared to race the best guys in the world who are able to prepare themselves. Unfortunately, my EBV numbers are back and high once again, which really showed this past weekend in the heat of Budds Creek. I have been trying to manage this sickness all year in an effort to secure a job for next season, as I have to wait until after Ironman this weekend to really start the recovery process which we believe we have a good plan for. I have really enjoyed riding for @teamrmatvmc this year and I hope we can continue the relationship next year, because I know once I get healthy and having a year under my belt with this awesome group of people that I can be a threat next year for podiums and wins. Thanks for listening and I will see some of you this weekend at Ironman. Just know I am doing the best I can with the circumstances I’m dealt with right now. -JB
A post shared by Justin Bogle (@justinbogle19) on Aug 19, 2019 at 10:35am PDT