profile - Golden oldie!
By TMX Archives on 13th May 05
Motocross is a young man's sport! But it's a fact that Suzuki team leader Joel Smets - moto winner at the opening GP - is the oldest guy in top level motocross at 36 while champion Stefan Everts is the third eldest at 32.And the guy who Motocross is a young man's sport! But it's a fact that Suzuki team leader Joel Smets - moto winner at the opening GP - is the oldest guy in top level motocross at 36 while champion Stefan Everts is the third eldest at 32.And the guy who splits them in the age stakes is not exactly hanging about either. That honour goes to Paul Cooper, the British championship leader who stormed through the pack twice at Zolder in typically flamboyant fashion to also grab a major haul of points and a top 10 world ranking.It's a dead cert that few of you would imagine that the fresh-faced South African belongs to the old guard, indeed it was a shock to Paul - who's 34 this summer - himself!"I didn't realise," admitted a stunned Coops when I told him. "But it makes me kind of proud because I don't think I look or feel that old and I like to think nobody else does either!"Perhaps it's that laid-back SA upbringing, or perhaps it's the fact that those sportsmen who manage to keep it going at the highest level past 30 go that extra mile to stay there. "It's not something I am conscious of but I think you instinctively realise as you get older that you have to train more to attain the same degree of fitness."And in my case there are two more factors. I have always trained hard but it wasn't until 1999 that I realised that I wasn't training correctly. And perhaps I haven't burnt myself out because since then injuries have always meant that I didn't ride a complete season."The positive turning point in Paul's career came near the end of 1999 when he linked up with qualified trainer Stefan Neusser from Germany. "I started working with Stefan just after Gaildorf and 2000 was the high point of my career as my results became more consistent. I was able to overcome the short stress periods which can hit you in the middle of a race and that helped my confidence."It's also good to have someone to consult, one to one, putting your trust in someone who is qualified to advise you rather than just relying on guess work."But in the last four years came the injuries.In 2001 Paul needed a major knee reconstruction after damaging the ACL joint and in 2002 he incredibly still found time to clinch his third British title despite torn groin muscles. In 2003 he stumbled from one mishap to the next during the first half of the year, breaking a finger in training for the opening GP in Spain, then a rib on his comeback and finally being left bed-ridden for weeks by a serious dose of salmonella food poisoning.And last spring, after a fabulous start to the year that saw him beat factory riders at Zolder and Agueda, Paul shattered a collarbone in a freak collision with Chris Burnham."I had ended 2003 on a high when I finished top six in the first race at the Nations behind five factory riders and 2004 started well when we went back to Zolder and I got sixth again in the first race."Spain was just so muddy - that wasn't racing - but in Portugal I was again best privateer in the first race, having passed half of the factory guys on the way. In the second moto Chris Burnham and myself were again moving forward through the factory guys when Chris came up short on a step-up. There was nothing I could do about it. I was already committed in the air and couldn't miss him."I broke my collarbone and that's not normally a big thing. I flew home expecting to be back in three weeks but when I went to the hospital they discovered that it was shattered, broken in six places."They weren't even prepared to operate because they said the danger of infection was too great but I went back to South Africa and a surgeon there did the operation. When it was over I asked him how long before I could ride again expecting him to say four weeks - when he said four months I couldn't believe it!"I actually thought he was having a joke with me but he explained that the breaks would have to knit one at a time and that if they are not allowed to do so then the end of the limb can die off and they will never ever knit together again."All through my injuries I have always kept in training, maintaining general fitness and keeping all of my limbs and muscles which are not affected in shape. I was actually able to go out riding again before the four months were up - there was so much metal in there they couldn't see on the X-ray if it had knitted or not but the surgeon said that if I felt no discomfort it was okay to race."For more from Coops don't miss the June issue of dbr - on sale now!Words and photos by Alex Hodgkinson