Nick Triest: A new adventure (part 1)
Nick Triest has mainly made a name for himself as a motocross rider in recent years, but since this season he has embarked on a new adventure together with Beta, namely enduro. In the meantime, Nick has already played his first matches of this season, and that is why we thought it was high time to grill him about this in a two-part interview.
How do you like life as an enduro rider?
It's different from when I was still riding motocross. Agreed, it is both riding a motorcycle, but there is a little more to it than just showing up at the start, leaving and finishing. For example, I now have to install new mousse and tires myself in a short time between tests, while that used to be something for the mechanic. During an enduro you also spend longer on the bike, about 5 to 8 hours, and that also counts. That is why I have had to adjust my training schedule in the sense that I now focus even more on endurance training.
How did this enduro adventure actually come about?
That actually started about three years ago when I took part in the 12 hours of la Chinelle, and despite some bad luck, our team still managed to finish second. Since then, they at Beta wanted me to compete for them in the enduros, and the request from them kept coming. Ultimately, I felt that I had to make a decision about this towards them. In other words, I had to let them know that they no longer had to take me into account or that I would ultimately go for it. And in the end it became the last option.
You had indicated that you would quit motorsports in previous interviews after quitting your previous team, what could have convinced you to finally take this step again?
Beta's question had been there for some time, but until then I had always held off a bit as I still enjoyed riding motocross myself. Until last season when the team quit, I was suddenly left empty-handed. However, I felt at the time that Beta was still 100% behind me, and that is why I finally decided to take the step towards enduro.
Do you sometimes still feel homesick for motocross?
Yes, of course you always miss that a bit. The engines are different to begin with. An enduro would be ideal for regular amateur motocross riders, but to really compete at a high level, an enduro would still be a bit short of the motocross bikes. So I miss the dirt bike a bit, but I also really enjoy riding my enduro motorcycle so I don't really lose sleep over it.
What are your long-term goals in enduro?
Wow, that's actually hard to say at the moment. Normally I will participate in the Enduro GPs towards the end of the season so that I can get a taste and feel of what it is all about. After this I will be able to determine for myself better where and how far I exactly stand. I'm just going to try to ride as best as I can, and then it will also depend a bit on Beta itself as I draw up my calendar in consultation with them.
Text and photos: Dieter Jans
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