You are here

MotoGP, Biaggi: "When you reach the big four-oh, your heart's the same, but your head isn't."

Max reflects on motorcycling after the age of 40: "You need to work twice as hard as a young rider of the same caliber!"  

MotoGP: Biaggi: "When you reach the big four-oh, your heart's the same, but your head isn't."

Share


Max Biaggi often uses social networks to communicate with his fans and motorcycling enthusiasts. This time he was inspired by two days of free practice sessions at Mugello on the RSV4X, expressing his sensations on the bike from a special perspective: that of a (former) rider who's been "over 40" for a while.

Max was an example of sporting longevity, winning the SBK title at 41, but this doesn't mean that time passes without bringing change, especially when it comes to your physical condition, since the mentality of a rider doesn't change.

What are the consequences: you have to work twice as hard to get the same results as when you were young. It's a lesson that Biaggi had to learn on his own when he was still racing and that Valentino Rossi, another racing 40-year-old, knows what it means.

We'll leave you with Corsair's words.

"Hey guys,

I finished a two-day free practice session at the Mugello circuit yesterday. Aprilia gave me my RSV4 X, and I prepared myself for the occasion with a good workout a few days before: lots of cardio, functional training, and some weights.

I got on the bike Sunday morning and took off for the first laps. Without any pretense, I just wanted to get used to the movements and speed again! No type of training can get you into the habit of going fast and of all the mechanisms needed to ride a 225 hp monster. Although we have really developed nowadays, no type of functional training can ever completely simulate riding a motorcycle, also because everything happens at an unimaginable speed on a bike.

Like I said, I don't expect anything but, believe me, after having spent a lifetime in scuffles, you have to keep your instincts in check, otherwise they take over!

I did the first 5-lap run, then I returned to the pit-box. Some adjustments were made to the suspensions, then a few other runs, until it decided to rain on the circuit. Everything was postponed till the next day.

When I woke up yesterday morning, I had a slight pain in my back, which I still have today, reminding me of how difficult the job of a rider is.

Unfortunately, I raced just a few laps yesterday, again due to rain.

In short, this first contact with my new bike was not sun-kissed, but we'll make up for it next time.

Anyway, I want to make an obvious observation, but one that's difficult to accept: after a certain age, everything really changes. Your recovery time changes on a physical level, your desire to take risks changes, as does your ability to react to situations that happen in a few thousandths of a second!

In short, your heart is what it used to be, but sometimes your head doesn't follow it!

And when you pass that big four-oh, this is true for everyone. Certainly constant training, an iron will, and talent, tend to eliminate these feelings but, believe me, you have to work twice as hard than any young rider of the same caliber!

I have experienced this in the last few years in SBK, and I repeat it every time I get on a bike.


Bikes are my life, but the future belongs to the young! Right? What do you all think? Has the way you ride changed for you too with age? It doesn't matter if you've never been on a track before. I'd like to hear the opinion of those who have been riding for a lifetime, even if they've never set foot on a track."

Translated by Leila Myftija
__

Related articles