Marc De Reuver about the end of his World Cup career
Marc De Reuver (38) and Tony Cairoli (36) separated for two years. The farewell to the nine-time world champion in Mantova was a good reason for De Reuver to look back on the end of his top sports career.
Cairoli was at the top for eighteen years. The tough Italian achieved no fewer than 93 GP victories and finally won his first MX of Nations title this year, together with Alessandro Lupino and Mattia Guadagnini. This makes Tony the second most successful rider in the history of the Motocross World Championship.
De Reuver competed against Cairoli in both MX2 and MXGP. The career of the F&H Racing team trainer was one with unforgettable highlights. The popular Amstelveener has 11 series victories, 3 GP victories, the prestigious Red Bull Knockout and several Dutch titles to his name. But there were also deep valleys, heavy physical and mental hardships.
Too young to stop
Against all odds, TC222 remained a contender for World Cup victories and more until the end. That was different for De Reuver. At the end of 2015 he hung up his helmet. At the age of 32 he was finished and had to stop due to injuries.
“I felt I was too young to retire, but Tony is okay with it. He is at peace with it. That's another way to quit. He is still at the top and if he were to race next year he would still make the top five.”
De Reuver rode for KTM, Yamaha and Honda factory teams. “I was always with factory teams and in 2009 I had a very bad crash. As a result, I lost my factory seat for 2010. From there it went a bit downhill and I almost ended up in a depression.”
During his career, Marc did not mince his words. Last month, together with journalist Tim Gerth, he launched a much-discussed and appreciated insight into his turbulent career in the biography 'Open'. In the meantime, an English version is also in the making and will be released in March 2022.
From enfant terrible to top trainer
“I went completely off the path,” he says of his personal struggles after his racing career. “I started having panic attacks and had to take anti-depressants. I had to push the subject away. I did stupid things while racing, but I also got into situations that were really bad for my career.”
However, De Reuver quickly reinvented himself as a no-nonsense trainer. He guided Pauls Jonass to the MX2017 world title in 2, despite the lingering problems of a concussion the Latvian suffered in 2016. For the past four years he has succeeded the F&H-Kawasaki riders.
“I've been riding motocross since I was five. That made me think that nothing else could be done than motocross.' I had big problems about what I was going to do that would give me enough satisfaction,” he recalls. “I started as a trainer, got involved with Pauls Jonass and when he won it gave me the same adrenaline. It's the same feeling.”
F&H Kawasaki will compete in MX2022 and MXGP in 2 with Kevin Horgomo and Jed Beaton (photo above) respectively.
Tekst: Adam Wheeler, Tom Jacobs
Photos: Archive
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