As every rider who has ever competed in a big race knows success is only achieved if several important things all fall into place. You need skill, determination, good equipment, and of course a little luck. If one of these items is missing when it matters most then your results can suffer. Heading into last weekend at Red Bud Team Canada was clicking on all cylinders and appeared destined for their best result to date at the MXON. However, things can change quickly and as you’ll read below between bike issues, crashes, and injuries, Team Canada did not get the results they’d hoped for at Red Bud. It was most certainly a tough pill to swallow for everyone involved in the MXON effort but they did leave Red Bud with their heads held high knowing that they gave it everything they had. We caught up with Tyler Medaglia, Dylan Wright, and Ryder McNabb to see how they were feeling a few days after competing for their country in this iconic event.
Tyler Medaglia:
Yeah, I don’t know what to say other than I’m really bummed about how things went. Heading into the weekend I felt good and the last few weeks I was able to get some good practice and training in. Unfortunately, I wasn’t even to make it through Saturday in one piece as I came together with another rider and ended up hurting my hand again. I knew right away something was wrong again and when I went and got X-Rays at the Alpinestar Medical Centre I was almost sick to my stomach with what I saw. I was just gutted as I knew that Sunday was going to be a big struggle. I didn’t want to let my team down, I didn’t want to let the fans down, and I didn’t want to let myself down as I worked damn hard to get there. But right from the first lap on Sunday it was difficult to hold on and race the way I knew I could. Also, this event is just so tough and when you’re outside of the top ten off the start in those conditions it’s almost impossible to move forward. I know some of the top riders did it but for me, it was just survival and I did my best. I gave it everything I had and I know Dylan and Ryder did also. It’s such a bummer as we had a great team going in and to have everything go the way it did really stings. I know it’s part of the game but this is going to bug me for some time.
Ryder McNabb:
That was definitely an event that I’ll never forget. Coming into the weekend I had a lot of people telling me what to expect but it was even beyond that. We had a good team going into Red Bud and I felt like we were ready to have a good finish overall. Dylan rode well and it’s too bad he had that crash in the first moto on Sunday. Tyler got injured on Saturday so he wasn’t 100% for Sunday. I felt like I ready but once the gate dropped I was a little surprised at just how crazy the racing was. It was definitely like something that I had never experienced before. The riders were so fast and were going for it so hard that if you gave up an inch you got passed. It was one of those things where I just had to experience it to really know what it was like. Also, it was too bad that I had some bike issues before my second moto on Sunday as it started to act up on the sight lap. It felt engine related at the time but no one knew what was going on and that was obviously a frustrating moment. Hopefully, I get another opportunity to represent Canada again in the future because I know I can do better.
Dylan Wright:
Sometimes it just feels like any luck we have at this event is bad luck. Between Tyler getting injured again, Ryder having some bike issues, and me going down in the first moto it was just a challenging day. That was a tough crash and it ended up being in a really bad spot and other guys just kept coming over the jump and hitting me. In the final moto, I was able to run inside the top ten and have a good race. We had a few good moments but not enough to put it all together and have a good overall finish. The MXON is so tough that you need everything to fall into place if you want to finish well. Everyone is fast and if you make a mistake it can really cost you and your team. At the end of the day, I’m proud of our effort as a team and we should proud that we never gave up!