Cooper Webb Championship Tough!

Cooper Webb’s calling card is mental toughness. He willed himself to a third Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship. But when the AMA handed over the #1 plate, that mental toughness finally broke. Literally. He was in tears, and the world saw something else. Pushing so hard takes its toll, even on someone as tough as Coop. For five months, he made it look like he had it under control. He showed no signs of weakness. It was just standard game-time Cooper Webb.

That's not nearly as easy as he makes it appear. Winning any title, but especially this one, his third, is not easy. This was the hardest thing he's ever done. What was running through his mind after winning? Not joy. Not quite yet. Right now, he could only just exhale. 

“A lot of relief, man,” he said. “You know, it's a lot of work that goes on, a lot of passion, a lot of just everything, so just a sigh of relief. Like I said on the podium. I had a lot of 3 a.m. nights thinking about how I can win this damn thing again, and here we are.”

It took everything Webb had to get this third title. Everything. Physically and mentally. As the season wore on, Webb distanced himself from the cliche talk that doubters give him motivation. If anything, he started to lean in the same direction. He started admitting maybe he wasn’t the physical specimen or talent of a guy like Chase Sexton, Jett Lawrence of Eli Tomac. 

"You know, I don't have the physical gifts, I'm fat at times, dad bod, you know," he said in a recent video feature. "I've always been strong in the head and I've able to suffer like no other. It's something I want so badly."

He has to do it a different way, and that was is the hard way. As the season evolved, it only got tougher.

“You gotta stay in it, you gotta stay present, you gotta stay focused, you gotta apply yourself every weekend, especially against Chase [Sexton],” Webb said. “I think he really turned it on there at the end. I had a great season, but when he was on, it's hard, and in these last few, you have a lot on the line. You gotta be good, but you don't want to put yourself in a vulnerable spot. So, I think for me it was something where you push hard, but you're also wise. So it's been stressful. It's never easy. It's never the funnest of times, these closing stages, but it feels great when you get to this point.”

Webb also revealed the extent of an off-season injury he had kept mostly quiet throughout the season. The thumb injury that required surgery last summer flared back up after an off-season crash. He was racing in pain all season.

“I know it's frustrating to say, but I was in pain for nine months with my thumb,” he explained. “You know, it just never healed and never got better. I crashed and rehurt it and it makes it tough. That's the bottom line and it's easy to roll over. You know, I've won two. I've made a lot of money [already]. I do this because I absolutely love it and this is what I chase. When we have these boot camps and we do all these things, you're giving it your absolute all, from diet to sleep. I haven’t had a sip of alcohol in a year. Just things like that that you give up to chase your dreams.

“I went all in this year," he added. "I think like Rich [Simmons, team manager] said in his interview, we sat down for coffee. He told me I was fat and I need to get my shit together and I said, 'You're right.' I made it a priority. I put my head forward. I woke up every day, grinded. I’ve got to give it up to my team, you know, everyone says it, but they truly push me to be the best version of myself every day. My teammates, my training partners, you know, J-Coop [Justin Cooper] has been very underestimated as a training partner and teammate, and he pushes me every day. We go all in every day and that's what Star expects from you and I love it and that's what put me in this position. It's not fun and picture perfect every day, but this moment right here makes it worth it."

To get this title, Webb had to block out the negative. He even had to block out his own doubts.

“I alluded to it in December,” he said. “It was rough. I was sitting there with an injury and was running on the beach with my agent right there and we were having a chat. Do you race or do you not race? I said, 'Eff it, let’s race. If it don't work, we'll get surgery and call it.' You know,  stuff like that, I didn't think about it an hour ago, but when I'm sitting here in this chair going like, 'Man, there's so many things that have to go right.' And we did it. We're a three-time champ. Let's go.”

Webb’s four-season gap between his second and third championships is the longest ever between a second and third title. That time, filled with frustration, gave him a perspective he didn’t have in 2019 and 2021. It seemed simpler and, perhaps, easier back then.

“The biggest thing is time gap, right?” he said. “In '19 and '21, it was almost like you're programmed. I'm just at Aldon's [Baker] and we're grinding and was great, the competition was super stiff but things were coming at me just almost too good sometimes, right? You take a win for granted because we were clicking so much. That’s what really makes this one stand out, the time gap, the injuries. Also, the 2022 season, that was ridiculously bad. To fight through all that to come close in ‘23, to come close last year, to do it at 29 years old, to do it three time is like it's a dream. Honestly, that's the easiest way to say it.”

Is he going to be able to ramp it up again next year?

“Hopefully I can keep it going, but at 29, you never know, right?” he says. “These kids are fast, so I'm gonna keep doing my thing. I'm gonna put myself in these situations every year. I know I'm a gamer and I can do it, so I'm going to go as long as I can, but to get this third one means the world and especially now as a dad and as a father and on another team, you know, I think that's huge for me. These are the guys that gave me my first ever shot as a pro and to repay Bobby Regan and Brad [Hoffman] and these guys with 450 championship means a lot.”

That’s the last piece. He finally got back on top after four years of chasing it, but now he gets to do it with his old team, the one that grabbed him as an amateur when he didn’t have options. His previous two titles came with Red Bull KTM. Previous to that came two failed 450 seasons with the old Monster Energy Yamaha factory team, that later yielded the 450 program over to Star Racing.

“I'm glad I could give it back to Yamaha because they wasted a lot of money on me early in my 450 career!” he said. “It feels good to be able to switch to the team that I always envisioned myself on eventually, you know, when they got to the 450 level. We’re the winner of the biggest championship you can get. The last time with Yamaha [2017-2018] was not great for any of us, so to do it with Star, to do it with Yamaha, to repay them those favors, I needed to deliver. I had great times with KTM and those boys and we did a lot of great things, but these guys are like my family. We're all on the same page. Then know when to push me and when not to. I can really be myself and say what I want and they're going to fight right back and put me in my place! Bobby Reagan [Star team owner] I say he’s like my grandpa. So super, super special.”