Belgian rider Cedric Grobben pulled off one of the biggest surprises of the EMX Open championship by clinching the title at Lommel — a track known for separating the good from the great. Coming into the weekend without any serious expectations and racing mostly for fun, Grobben stunned even himself by walking away with the championship. We caught up with Grobben after his emotional victory to talk about how it all unfolded, the brutal nature of the Lommel sand, balancing work with racing, and what the future might hold. Here’s what he had to say…
GateDrop: Cedric, when you came here on Friday, did you really expect to win this class?
Grobben: No, I didn’t expect this one. It’s unbelievable. I came here for fun and just enjoy but I won the championship, it’s unbelievable. It’s a dream.
GateDrop: Just how does it feel to actually win? I mean, especially when you didn’t expect it either. It must feel amazing…
Grobben: Yeah, it feels amazing. The second moto was hard, but when I crossed the finish, it was a fantastic feeling. I think that it is the best race win of my career at the moment.
GateDrop: How did you feel ahead of the second moto? Because obviously you unexpectedly won the first moto. Did that add a little bit of pressure? Did you start thinking about becoming champion?
Grobben: I tried not too but it was difficult. The first two or three laps, I was a little bit tired riding. The guys were really pushing in front, but I stayed calm. I tried to find my flow on the track, but the stress level was high.
GateDrop: Towards the end of the second moto, how long did those laps feel? I mean, even in normal circumstances, it’s tough. Never mind when you know you’re about to win a title…
Grobben: The laps are like 2.11 or something, I don’t know. But for me, the last two laps, it feels like 10 minutes for one lap.
GateDrop: And just on the track? I mean, even for Lommel, that was really, really rough this weekend.
Grobben: Yeah, it was just rougher than when you come training in the week or when you have a Belgium championship. It’s really rough, that’s right.
GateDrop: Do you like those kind of conditions, coming from Belgium? Do you like the rougher tracks?
Grobben: Yeah, I like it. Now the stress level was high and it took a little bit physically for me. But I’m happy that I finished third and got the championship.
GateDrop: Would you ride here much during the week? I mean, you are Belgian, so you don’t have that many tracks to ride. Or would you go to the Netherlands quite a lot?
Grobben: Not a lot. I come here because I work a lot. Every day I work. And then if I come like Wednesday, it’s short for me. So when I’m done at work, it’s only like 40 minutes away and I’m here. When I go to the Netherlands or something, it’s like one hour 20 minutes. So that’s further away and it’s easier to come and ride here a bit if not a lot of time in the week.
GateDrop: What has Cedric Grobben been doing from the start of the season until this point? Like the Dutch Masters, things like that?
Grobben: Yeah, I only did one in Oss at the beginning of the season and then I have the Belgium championship. And now I’m leading the championship in Belgium, there are still four rounds to go. I try to finish that also in a good position and then I think this year will finish as a good time.
GateDrop: How come you haven’t been racing the Dutch Masters? Is this just for fun for you now?
Grobben: I haven’t been racing the Dutch Masters because I am working and for that level you have to train a little bit more. Sometimes it’s difficult to train more, but I work every day.
GateDrop: You’re obviously quite good. For next year, are you maybe hoping to race at a higher level or not?
Grobben: For next year I don’t know what I’m going to do. First we have to finish this year and then we’ll see in the winter what I’m going to do.
GateDrop: Well, you were pretty good in the sand this weekend… Maybe you should stick an entry in for Arnhem MXGP?
Grobben: (laughs) No, I don’t think so. The GP level is higher. The level is higher so we’ll see but I don’t think I’ll be there.
