Clement Desalle: Battling Back

Monster Energy Kawasaki Racing Team rider Clément Desalle is a tough man, there is no doubt about that, and the Belgian veteran is having to use all his experience and knowhow to dig himself out of his current situation. Fighting against neck and back injuries and racing outside the top five isn’t something that Desalle enjoys, but the goal is always the same and his motivation hasn’t changed.

With three rounds of the MXGP championship within eight days, Desalle had to work hard in Italy as his back gave him problems and in a class as competitive as MXGP, racing at 70% won’t bring podium finishes.

“It was a very difficult GP for me,” Desalle said. “As I injured my neck and my back after Latvia and couldn’t train before this GP; I wasn’t even sure I could race the first round in Faenza. I didn’t know what I could expect; we did a good job with our physio before and between the races. In the first race it was OK for the first ten minutes but then the pain returned, and it was impossible to keep the pace. My start was not that good in the second race, but I gained positions in the first few corners to come fifth. But then it was a similar story to the first race; the pain was back, and I couldn’t keep the rhythm. Motocross is a tough sport and we have to deal with injuries; I did my best, but it’s not an easy situation to accept.”

At the final Faenza round Clément Desalle improved his previous Faenza experiences and while his World championship position isn’t where he wants to be, making the right steps will see him come back strong when we return to Italy in a couple of weeks’ time.

“It was much better than the previous rounds; I had less pain in my back, although it’s difficult during the last ten minutes because the pain returns. I’m pretty happy with the day apart from the starts. I had a better feeling than at the previous races, and in the second race I was able to make passes and gain two positions in the second half of the race. It was not an easy campaign in Faenza, but I’m pretty satisfied and now we have two weeks to prepare for the next rounds.”

So, now onto Mantova for another three in a row and hopefully more improvement in his injuries for the Belgian. Down in 10^th place in the MXGP points standings Desalle can make up big ground on a handful of riders ahead of him and come out of Mantova a lot better placed than he goes in.