Antonio Cairoli: The Will To Win

There is no doubt, Antonio Cairoli has nothing to prove and as he gets closer and closer to his retirement day, the goal might still be to win his 10^th FIM Motocross World Championship title, but the pressure to win isn’t like it was when he was going for his first in 2004. Now 35 years old and turning 36 in a week or two, the Italian legend is just having fun while his amazing career lasts.

During our double header in Turkey, Cairoli showed amazing resilience against two much younger men in Jeffrey Herlings and Tim Gajser and despite an age difference of 10 years, Cairoli doesn’t plan to just hang in there for the remainder of this year’s MXGP title race.

“I would never hang in there,” Cairoli said. “That isn’t my style. If I have no particular pain on my body, I know I can still fight at the front. After the surgery with the knee, I still can’t train how I want, but my knee is responding better, and I don’t need to do anything with it after the races. Also, the shoulder is good, so I am not too bad at the moment. I feel okay and I really enjoy riding still and the speed is there and also the will to win.”

The Red Bull KTM Factory riders charge through the field in Turkey and chasing down Herlings, Gajser, Jorge Prado and Romain Febvre proved that there is still fight in the old dog and his experience makes it a little easier to compete in this the most demanding period of Grand Prix motocross.

“Of course, using energy and also specially when the track gets technical and rough, tracks like this one, and not fast and not rough. On tracks like this I can use my technique to not lose too much energy and there are places I can rest and places I need to attack.”

And now, with his retirement being confirmed yesterday, it isn’t just about winning championships on his mind anymore. A young family and other goals have taken over from being a full-time motocross rider, and he looks forward to the next period of his life.

“For sure I will stay in the environment, motocross is still my life, it will remain my great passion and with KTM I will continue my path, even if with a different role. Finally, I want to thank all those who helped me in this adventure, and the many fans who have always given me that charge to give 222%. I still have a lot of things to do in life after 2021, but in the meantime, there is still a goal we need to think about… thanks guys!”

For now, though, battling the best motocross riders in the World is his short-term goal, and no doubt this weekend in Sardinia, the Sicilian veteran will make sure that the youngsters show him enough respect and don’t try taking his dream of another championship away just yet.