[Interviews]

EXCLUSIVE: TODD WATERS INTERVIEW

10 years ago | Words: Alex Horvath

After an unfortunate training accident left him badly injured just before round six of this season, Todd Waters is chomping at the bit to jump back in the saddle and return to racing. Recently, Transmoto’s Alex Horvath caught up with the 26-year-old trackside at the Uddevalla Grand Prix to see how his rehab’s progressing and chat about when we can expect to see him back to race-fitness.

You’ve been over in Europe for a while now, so let’s take it back to before your injury. How were you feeling about your debut ride over here?

My first thoughts were that this place is gnarly! My first impression was down in Belgium at a testing day and it was freezing – only about 3ºC and raining – and my first thought was that these guys are so tough. They really are. The GP paddock isn’t a bunch of guys with their pants around their ankles standing around drinking beers. They take riding very seriously. That’s why they get the results. I think that’s also why coming to Europe puts you in good stead to do well down the track. If you look at guys who cut their teeth over here – people like Chad Reed and Andrew McFarlane – you can see why they learnt to train really hard and not be soft when it’s rainy and cold. I’ve definitely had the chance to think a lot about these mental battles that happen before I even hop on the bike, they make a big difference.

And how have things been working out with the new Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna team?

Yeah, it’s been really good. Our team manager – Antti Pyrhönen – is an ex GP rider who’s just come off retirement. That makes a big difference because he has the whole thing dialled. He knows where and when we need to train, and he’s so used to travelling around the world racing. That really helps me lots, because it’s all new to me. I’m living down in Belgium and I don’t usually even know how to get to the track [laughs]. Husqvarna is also a really strong brand with a hell of a lot of motocross heritage, they are in a really strong place at the moment.

Can you elaborate on what happened when you got injured? 

Yeah, it was just a practice crash. I was coming over a jump and as I came toward the downramp I just saw four dudes laying on the other side. It was a pretty big surprise mid-air and it didn’t end too well. I’ve had a lot of time to think about it over the past 10 weeks, and I’ve had a lot of time to analyse what I need to do in order to move forward. I was lucky enough to spend the last four weeks in Austria at the Red Bull DTC (Diagnostics & Training Centre) training and testing facility. [see this piece for more on the nature of Todd’s injuries, and this video to hear more from him about it.]

What’s that?

It’s a facility for all of Red Bull’s athletes to come and get tested to determine where our physiological fitness is at. They have all the best people: physiotherapists, doctors, massage therapists, etcetera. It’s purely for testing; they give us the opportunity to do our lactic acid tests, VO2 and all that stuff. It was really important for me to get my body into the best shape possible. Mainly because as a motocross rider who’s injured, all I care about is getting the okay from the doctors to hop back on the bike. I wouldn’t even care if I was limping to the thing and dragging my leg behind me; as long as I get the okay to get back into it, I’m there.

While in Austria, I spent the time with physios three times a day. I had a sports psychologist with me two times a day. I had lactic levels measured throughout the day to make sure I wasn’t over-training. And then we’d continue that routine till 5pm.

So what’s the latest on your injury and your return to racing? 

Well, I am just about to hit the ten week milestone, which was an important one for my recovery schedule. So we’ll see what the scans show after that. Red Bull has been really happy with my progress so far and it feels great – everything is ahead of schedule. I haven’t spoken to any doctors yet, but as you can see, I’m walking around no worries. Once the bones heal fully, I’ll be straight back into strength training to even up the muscle and strength imbalances that have occurred as a result of the injury.

At which round can we expect to see you back in the gates? 

At the moment, I’m aiming to be back riding at Lommel, Belgium [scheduled for August 3, 2014]. That’s something that I really can’t decide until I get back on the bike and see how I feel. Once I know, then we can all make an informed decision. Antti has been really good about it and he’s really been holding me back. He told me that we just need to be smart about it; and that there isn’t any advantage to trying to come back a round or two earlier and risking further damage. So we’re trying to focus on the long term. Having him backing me like that has been really positive. Most team managers would be hassling me hard to get back on as soon as possible, but Antti knows what it’s like to be on the other side. Both Antti and Kimi [Räikkönen, F1 pilot and Team Owner] came and visited me when I was in hospital and made it clear they were 100 percent behind me . That meant a lot. Sometimes our sport’s so one-sided, people can forget very quickly and that’s a really cruel thing.

Does Kimi have much of a hands-on role in the team?

Yeah, he does to an extent, which is cool. But he’s still racing Formula 1, so he has a really busy schedule. He came to one of the pre-season races with us and he loves riding and hanging out with the team. That’s pretty cool. I think it’s awesome to have a guy who’s so passionate about the sport behind the scenes. Antti is no different, he’s so dedicated to pushing our sport and pushing the brand. That’s what you need. You can’t just have people who simply enjoy the BBQ at the end of the day; you have to really want it. I want it so bad, so it’s good to have the same mindset amongst the mechanics and all the crew.

We spoke a bit at dinner last night about the des Nations. Have you put your name forward this year? 

Absolutely, that’s my favourite race of the year. I’ve been lucky enough to be picked the last two years and I’m really hoping to have another chance this year. I’ve always been so pumped on the MXoN. When I was first picked two years ago, I’d never even been outside of Australia. I was so green. This year, I’ve had a lot more experience racing overseas. So I feel like I’ll be a lot more prepared. I know how the process works now, and I know who I’ll be racing against. I think I’m more prepared than I have ever been before.

Hopefully we see you guys up on the podium this year then.

Yeah, that’d be nice. We just missed out last year.

Can you shine any light on what we can expect you to do next year? Will you re-sign with Husky?

Yeah we’ve been sorting it out. There isn’t anything I can tell you at this point. But this is where I want to be. There hasn’t really ever been an Aussie World Champion, both Dean and I have that in our sights, and that’s what we’re aiming for.

And what about looking further ahead? Are you aiming to get to America, or are you keen to stay in Europe? 

Look, for now, my long-term goal is to race here in Europe at the top-level. I’ve raced guys like Coppins and Townley, who’ve really been able to fight with the best of the best in the past. I know I can do it. I’ve had so much to do with those guys, who’ve been there and done it in the past, so I think it’s more than possible and that’s what I want to aim for. I would love to get to the US one day, but first I want to tick off a few other things here. I like it here. It’s just a little more laid-back, you know? Obviously, at the end of the day I am a racer, and I want to race against the best guys for as long as I can, whether that’s here or in America.

Unreal, thanks Todd. 

No worries. Let’s go watch some racing!

 

 

 

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