Motofreestyle in winter - all about winter freestyle motocross in Russia, what is it and how to practice?

Why do people jump on motorcycles in winter? A professional rider tells us

February 25, 2022, 19:05 MSC

It is important to prepare properly for training, warns Pavel Antonov.

What is winter freestyle motocross? Where and how is it practiced?

We explain together with a professional rider.

Extreme sports are becoming more and more popular. Some of them cannot be called “pioneers” in Russia, as they have already made themselves known loudly for a long time – for example, skateboarding. But about others, many people know nothing at all. Today we will tell you about winter freestyle motocross.

FMX-rider of Mad Men team

Winter freestyle motocross, besides Russia, exists in Finland, Sweden and Norway. When you live in a country where it is winter for a long time, you have to find a way to keep training. You can, of course, go to the south and winter there, but not everyone has such an opportunity. Especially among those who live, for example, beyond the Urals.

The main difference between winter freestyle motocross and summer freestyle motocross is that the training starts with a special “warm-up” – you have to take a shovel in your hands and go to clear the snow so that there is a place to ride. The motorcycle is “re-shod” with winter studded rubber, the acceleration lane and ramp are covered with rubber tape.

Pavel Antonov

The main difficulty is the cold. If in summer you can spend at least the whole day at the site, in winter you have to reduce the session to an hour – jump a couple of short stunt sessions and go home. Due to the fact that you can do only a few elements, you don’t have time to warm up, your muscles are cold and there is little pleasure in it. And if you wear a lot of clothes, it will be uncomfortable to ride.

Just for this reason, it is very difficult to learn new elements in winter, but the existing ones can be practiced.

Inhoudsopgave

Why should you practice in winter?

Winter training is necessary to somehow maintain fitness. If you don’t practice in the cold, you’ll have to learn how to ride and train jumps from scratch in the spring.

Tips from the editors

If, after closing this article, you decide to immediately run outside, get your Harley out of the garage and try to repeat something of what you have seen, slow down.
First you need to learn how to confidently ride a cross bike, calmly use all the control systems. Immediately plunge into this sport you will not succeed.
Get fit. If you can barely do three pull-ups, you won’t be able to hold your bike if it falls.
Contact a freestyle motocross school. Professional athletes and instructors will tell you how to set up your bike and where to start.
And once again, don’t try to repeat tricks from YouTube videos on your own.