2024 SEASON OPENER WITH ENDUROCROSS TOP PROGRESSIVE RIDERS CODY WEBB AND COOPER ABBOTT

Ahead of the Oct. 12 season opener of the 2024 EnduroCross series, MAVTV sat down with FactoryONE Sherco Racing Team riders Cody Webb and Cooper Abbott to learn more about what it takes to be competitive in the sport.

Webb is a three-time EnduroCross champion (2014, 2015 and 2017), while Abbott’s highest finish in the point standings was a runner-up result in 2021.

Question: For those who aren’t familiar with the sport, give a brief description of what EnduroCross is, as well as why fans should tune in and watch it this season.

CODY WEBB: EnduroCross basically just brings action-packed, off-road racing right into an arena that's super spectator friendly. Normally for an off-road race, you see us once every hour, maybe for 15 seconds, whereas EnduroCross is an arena experience. It's got all the obstacles you'd see off road, condensed into the worst track in existence (laughs), but there's a lot of excitement.

You never know who's going to win, because there’s a lot of chaos involved. I think EnduroCross is definitely known for the carnage side of things and just high-intensity, high-impact style racing.

COOPER ABBOTT: It’s just absolute carnage. There are 16 guys and girls on a track at a time. You pretty much drop the gate like Supercross, you go off and the problem is that you're not only battling the riders — you're now battling obstacles, rocks, logs, wood pit, whatever it may be. So sometimes, you may accidentally hit somebody just because you screwed up the section, then they think you actually try to hit them so they’ll come after you. It’s definitely quite aggressive with a lot of carnage, especially for such a short amount of time.

Question: What’s the most random element you’ve ever come across on an EnduroCross track?

CODY WEBB: We've jumped over cars on the track before. I don't know if that's the most random, but it's something people can relate to, right? Everyone knows what an old Oldsmobile looks like. I definitely think riding over cars is the most one-off, random thing we've ever done on the tracks before.

COOPER ABBOTT:

A few years ago, they brought in a bunch of pumpkins. Normally we'd have a wood pit, but they just decided to create a pumpkin pit. So literally at the start of the night, they would have fresh pumpkins — they'd probably put like a hundred of them — in this little square of logs.

By the end, we'd have all of them smashed because we would jump right into them. Then, when they got smashed, it was so slimy and slick that we would track it to other places on the track. It was definitely a unique thing. It wasn't crazy hard, but it was super random — just throwing a bunch of pumpkins out there. It made it interesting.

Question: The EnduroCross schedule is only six rounds, meaning there’s not a lot of room for error. How big of a factor does the length of the season play into the title chase?

CODY WEBB: Yeah, the season's super short — really condensed. I'd like to have more races, but if you think about it, it's a three-moto format every single night. So, it’s really more than six races, because you’ve got to have your head on a swivel for three races every night. It’s pretty important that you don't have an off night. Whoever’s most consistent and strongest should prevail at the end of the year.

COOPER ABBOTT: You have to come out swinging with only six rounds on the schedule. You don't want to start with a sixth-place finish and or anything farther back from that. Obviously, you want to end up on the podium. And if you get on the podium, you're like, “All right, we're in a good spot.” Within those six rounds, a lot obviously happens, but if you start a deficit, it's going to be so much tougher on yourself.

Question: This year’s EnduroCross schedule is spread out across the West Coast. Is there one particular place you really look forward to racing at, and is there a reason why you enjoy that round so much?

CODY WEBB: I'm kind of excited for Colorado Springs (CO) this year. It's a new venue for us and we've never been there before. I'm not originally from Colorado, but I live there now, so that's kind of my hometown race.

Another one I love is Everett (WA). Every year, the community up there is just so supportive of what we do. It's normally a packed crowd and the energy level in that arena is really high for us. This season will also be the first time that Everett is the final round. So, the first round and final round are probably the ones I’m most excited about this season.

COOPER ABBOTT: Since I come from more of a moto background, I enjoy the open stadiums a little more. With that being said, the second round of the season is in Prescott, Ariz., which is an hour-and-a-half drive for me. It’s as close as I can get to a home race and usually all of my friends and family make it up there to watch.

It’s funny because that race is typically super tight and a way different style than most of the other tracks, but for some reason I've always done pretty well there. I think it’s just because of the crowd and having everybody there. It can be stressful because there are so many people who want to talk and all that, but it's also such a cool experience because the cheering is so much louder. It definitely drives you when you’re getting a little bit tired.

Question: Looking at the big picture, in what ways has EnduroCross shaped your career and impacted your life in general?

CODY WEBB: I grew up riding trials bikes, which is a super technical form of riding with no seat. It doesn't get near enough of the respect it deserves. You see clips on social media now, but it's not really considered a mainstream thing. I kind of migrated into the EnduroCross world in 2008, and that was my first time dirt bike racing.

It definitely changed the whole trajectory of my career. If it wasn't for the EnduroCross series, I wouldn't be where I'm at now. It just gave me this opportunity to still be riding and representing all these awesome brands and making a name for myself. I do have an engineering degree, but this is a lot more enjoyable, so I'm holding onto this as long as I can.

COOPER ABBOTT: EnduroCross was really the one thing that created the love for riding and racing for me. I rode a little bit as a younger child, but not too much. Then I made a bet with my sister to race one of the EnduroCross rounds and somehow I lived up to that bet and I showed up to one. I was only supposed to do one, but I ended up racing almost all of the rounds that season.

It was something that I did once and then I was just sold on it. I don't know why I loved the struggle so much, but it was just so much fun.

I feel like it was so rewarding to conquer something new, even if I had just gotten over a log that I hadn't gotten over before. I was so happy to get over that and achieve something that, the first time I looked at, I thought there was no way I was doing it.

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