MICHAEL MOSIMAN INTERVIEW: “EVERY TIME MY BODY WANTS TO QUIT, I KNOW IT WILL GO A LITTLE BIT MORE IF I PUSH IT”

Sidelined with injury since Washougal, Troy Lee Designs GasGas rider Michael Mosiman made a strong return at Ironman and finished just off the podium with fourth overall. Moto one went pretty much to plan as his decent start earned him a solid third place finish after Jeremy Martin crashed out of the race. But it was moto two where the Northern California native really showed his heart. Starting well outside the top twenty, Mosiman turned on the gas enough to finish sixth, nearly catching Austin Forkner for fifth place. We were able to catch up with an excited michael mosiman after the race, still feeling the effects of his charge through the pack and hear his thoughts on the day heading into the 2021 Fox Raceway National #2.

By Jim Kimball
Photos by GasGas

2021 FOX RACEWAY NATIONAL #2 | FULL COVERAGE

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MICHAEL, LET’S HEAR A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR DAY TODAY AT IRONMAN. WHAT IMPRESSED ME WAS THAT IN SPITE OF MISSING SOME RACES, YOU DIDN’T MISS A BEAT. I love to hear you say that. I have been practicing a lot, and I believe you can get race experience that way mentally, rehearsing and going through it. Today, I feel fitness wise, I was hurting but my riding did not show it. I felt good composure and felt good confidence. I knew where I belonged. I wish I could have got Joe (Shimoda) in the first moto, but overall, a very solid day.

HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO HANDLE THE HEAT AND HUMIDITY? I have lived in Florida for a while now, but I am currently training and staying in California. It gets hot out there, but today it was a whole other beast. With the heat, a lot of it is mental. I just realized that every time my body says it wants to quit, I know it will go a little bit more if I push it. I gave absolutely everything today and it hurt like heck. As we are talking now, I am hardly standing. My legs are wobbly under me. At one point, I was practically seeing stars after the second moto. But you know what, my lap times were dang consistent during the two motos. I had only ridden three times prior to coming here. The longest moto I did was a twenty-five-minute moto. Today was incredible, but I am happy to be here.

YOU WERE PRETTY FAR BACK AT THE BEGINNING OF MOTO TWO, BUT YOU REALLY CAME THROUGH. I heard I was somewhere around twenty sixth early on. I got bumped in the first turn and went left when everyone else was going right. I was pretty buried in the pack. Then I almost crashed just as Jeremy Martin did. That screwed me up, and it just took me a few laps to get into it, but I did not quit and give up. It was painful every lap, but I am proud of my efforts. I just wanted to honor my dad and all he has done for me as he is dealing with some health issues right now and not able to be here. So, I wanted to honor him and honor God with my efforts, and that is what I think I did today.

WITH THE HUMIDITY, MANY OTHER RIDERS MIGHT HAVE JUST RIDDEN THE SECOND MOTO OUT? No kidding! I wanted to a lot of times, and on that last lap, I had nothing left. Forkner was in sniffing range in fifth, but I was not on him. I did back it down at the very end, and so be it; I put everything in and that is all I can do.

OVERALL, YOU HAD A STANDOUT DAY. Solid for me, considering everything. I think I can win one of these races before the end of the season. That is who I am, and I am really good on a dirt bike. One of the big things is me just starting to believe it. It is an exciting time.

YOU HAVE BEEN REALLY, REALLY SOLID OUTDOORS THIS SUMMER, IT SEEMS LIKE A WIN IS WITHIN REACH. Absolutely. That is the plan. If I just continue to trust my abilities and trust my preparation, I think we will be there in no time.

TWO MORE RACES LEFT MICHAEL; WHAT IS YOUR PLAN? Two more races in California. Man, I would love to win Hangtown, my hometown race. Fourth overall here at Ironman, podium at Pala, and try to go for the win at Hangtown. That is my plan. It is going to be an uphill challenge, but I believe I can do it.

I’D LIKE TO WRAP UP WITH THIS TOPIC; MANY ASSUME WITH HUSQVARNA AND GASGAS SHARING THE SAME PLATFORM, THAT YOUR MOVE FROM HUSQVARNA TO GASGAS WASN’T THAT BIG. The team change has been different. I love those guys at Rockstar Husqvarna, and I built a long-standing relationship with them. They picked me up when I was no one and had nothing, so that was a great relationship. Transitioning over to GasGas, I really like the speed of this bike. The bike is fast, and you know, even if you look back to Millville, it was us at TLD GasGas, and the Yamaha boys that were clearing that uphill triple easily. That is a test every year; who has the bike? You cannot hide on that jump. It is not like you can carry momentum to get it and so, our bike is good, and we were getting over clean, and easy. Then I really like our suspension guy and we got it set up good.

IT’S GREAT TO HEAR HOW HAPPY YOU ARE ABOUT THE MOVE. I don’t think that my time here at TLD GasGas has been without any hiccups but what I really like is that I have been able to be honest with them. It is some of my growth in myself, and the staff and the team. I can trust them, and we have built a relationship to where I can be honest even if it is ugly and that is a powerful thing. They back me, support me, and they believe in me a lot of times more than I believe in me and that is a big deal, so I am really excited for more years together.

2021 FOX RACEWAY NATIONAL #2 | FULL COVERAGE