Lynn Valk gained new level of confidence, race-craft and mental fortitude competing in EMX Women Championship Series wrapping up 3rd Overall on podium last weekend at Arnhem, Netherlands.
Having produced successful, consistent results over the 5 Round Series, Lynn was perfectly positioned to capitalize on all hard work put in, going 2-3 for 3rd Overall of Round and Series- a feat in itself considering the seasoned competition #172 was racing against in EMX Women Series.
#172: ‘The racing went very well. In the first moto I took the hole-shot and led almost the whole race. Shana passed me in the last 2 laps’.
‘Second moto- start was okay- started my race around P4. I could make some quick passes, then Steffi passed me and I finished 3rd Overall for Round and 3rd Overall in Series. I’m very happy with the weekend’.
‘3rd Overall after 5 Rounds feels really good. I only made one mistake at Reutlingen- the other races were solid’.
Matching experienced riders of WMX 4x Champion Steffi Laier is definitely one goal nailed- as nerves are always around racing up-front let alone leading majority of a race. As recently explained by NZ’s Vice-World MX Champion 2x Josh Coppins:
‘You need to run up front to learn how to control the race and control emotions. When you have been dreaming about winning one of these races for a long time- once you finally do, you need to keep it all under control. You need to learn how to win even if you have the speed to do so’.
And Lynn works hard to learn every step of the way- gaining valuable knowledge racing EMX Women 5 Round Series over course of 2 months, 5 different tracks in Italy, France, Denmark, Germany and Final Round Netherlands.
#172: ‘I definitely improved my skills in all these Rounds. The starts are getting better and better and my riding itself as well. It’s good to ride with Steffi. She has a lot of experience of racing and for me it’s just starting’.
Lynn has not only managed learning experiences, she also takes active role in bike set-up- knowing what works, when to change suspension settings and tyre selection rounding off full circle of career responsibilities for future racing.
#172: ‘We almost change nothing on the bike. The bike itself just gives me a confident feeling as it is, I don’t like to change everything every-time. Only for hard pack and sand pack we change just the rear wheel and sometimes a little bit on the suspension’.
‘The main goal is to have fun riding then the results will come’.
With focus switched to training for WMX Rounds 3-5 starting at Loket end of July, Lynn banks successful progress achieved over first 6 months of 2019, knowing where her capabilities lie come racing.
#172: ‘I think the best race so far was WMX Round 2 at Águeda. I felt so good all weekend and going 4-5 was great!’
‘The main thing now is to work hard for the last 3 WMX Rounds. And I’m going to do my best to finish as good as possible in the WMX Championship 2019.
Header Photo: Lynn Valk Photo Credit: Hans Gerritsen
Words: Sharon Cox.
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