Thirteen years. Thirteen long years chasing this dream. Thirteen years marked by injuries, doubts, disappointments and the constant feeling that fate stubbornly refused to let Ken Roczen get his hands on that highly coveted title. And yet, in 2026, the German finally did it. At last.
At 32 years old, after an already remarkable career, Ken Roczen secured the AMA Supercross 450 title. An achievement that now raises a question: what more can he realistically aim for?
Because Roczen’s story is not that of a champion who followed a straightforward path. It looks more like a succession of challenges and rebirths: the youngest MX2 world champion, the move to the United States, the first AMA championships, the horrific 2017 injury, the rebuilding years, leaving Honda, and then the Suzuki gamble…
Season after season, Ken Roczen became a credible contender again after returning to Suzuki, and then a genuine title challenger. In 2026, all the stars finally aligned. Almost against all expectations and he has become the oldest Supercross champion ever.
Now that he has the title in hand, Ken Roczen could decide to walk away at the perfect moment, such is the sense of a fairytale ending. The German rider himself admits that he needs time to think and had already considered retiring if he ever won the championship. Today, the circle is complete. What is really left for him to achieve?
Appearing on the latest PulpMX show, Ken Roczen was naturally asked about the subject. The German rider had also been picked up by microphones telling Hunter Lawrence on the night of his title celebration in Salt Lake City: “You’re next… me, I’m done.”
“It’s true, I said that [to Hunter],” admitted Ken Roczen. “Honestly, I still don’t know. I need time to think. I would never make a decision like that after going through 17 crazy weekends in a row because right now, I’m pretty burned out. I need to take a step away from it and let a few weeks pass. Deep down, I still love riding, but racing takes a lot out of you.
“In recent years, fighting for a title seemed so unlikely, so far away, that I couldn’t really focus on it. I hadn’t been in a championship battle for a very long time. My goal was to win a race again, then be capable of winning another one and putting together good results over several weekends in a row. That’s exactly what I managed to do this year.
“I told my wife that if one day all the stars aligned and I won a title, then that would be it for me. At the time, I truly meant it, because winning seemed almost unreal back then. It was more of a dream than anything else… Even at the start of the season, when I was riding well, the title still felt very far away because there are so many obstacles to overcome.
“Now, I’m a champion. You also have to look at things differently. If I was 25 years old and said I wanted to retire after winning this title, I’d understand people telling me: ‘You’re crazy, you’re young, you’re riding amazingly, keep going!’ But now I’m 32. And I also told my wife that maybe it would be a good thing to walk away while I’m still in one piece and healthy. There are a lot of things to take into consideration. Right now, I just don’t know.”
Roczen has a decision to make. But the two options probably are to retire or comeback for another season and run the #1 plate in 2027!
