Apex man, 70, becomes international motocross champion

By Jeff Hogan, WRAL anchor/reporter, & Rick Armstrong, Enterprise multimedia journalist

Apex, N.C. — At the World Vet Motocross Championships this month, Ike De Jager was decked in a green jersey with the number 20 on his back and immediately took the lead in his race.

The 70-year-old man from Apex was the feature of a WRAL Morning News segment in October, when he was training for the international competition.

Now, he carries the spoils of victory.

De Jager was favored to win in the expert 70-year-olds class. That could have been a jinx, but he was focused.

“I went there to race,” he said. “I went there to win.”

In October, De Jager was alone training on a dirt track near Henderson.

At Glen Helen track in California, he faced a crowd of 15 expert riders also defying their age.

“The excitement is incredible,” he said.

The hills were higher, the down slopes were steeper, the turns were sharper.

“All you have to do is just go as hard as you can for as long as you can while the race is on, you know,” De Jager said.

He was racing for more than a medal and personal pride. De Jager pushed himself to inspire others getting up in age to pursue their passions.

“Something that scares you a little bit, something that you have to work hard for — it's like the unknown, and then you break through it, and it’s such an incredible feeling,” he said.

“Older people seem to think it's only young people that have dreams and stuff like that,” he added. “Even when we're older, we have aspirations, we have dreams, we have things that we want to fulfill.”

De Jager said he plans to defend his World Vets Champion title next year.