It takes hustle and bustle to win a Moto3 FIM World Championship. It requires more strategy, racecraft and brute strength to transfer that pedigree to Moto2. Making the grade in MotoGP is another stretch. In the middle of that physical, mental and technical journey is 22 year old Alex Marquez. A former World Champion, 7 times Grand Prix winner and younger brother to a MotoGP phenomenon.
While Alex is close to Marc and trains with the Honda star he is also able to use his sibling as a reference for the demands that each category brings. He is trying to walk the same path as a conqueror of the two smaller divisions before entering the bigger stage of MotoGP.
Knowing how much the Marquez family drink-in the sport and absorb any method to seek improvement in their vocations; Alex was an interesting case when it came to finding out about his work away from the Marc VDS Moto2 machine. Luckily for us he was wiling to shed some light on what can be a very personal set of preferences for an elite athlete.
Things like running and playing in the gym with my brother but I think it only really became something important for me when I arrived to the Spanish Championship. The races were a bit longer and the bikes were 125cc. I didn't really get tired but I was fourteen and knew I needed to train or do something to be a bit better. On the last laps especially you felt how much energy you had to use on those bikes.
In the wintertime you train as much as you like or be in the best possible shape but you will always ache after the first day on the bike! Always! The way you move your body and the strength you use on the bike is different to any other training. The demands on the body also change depending on the track; somewhere like Valencia - that always turns to the left -means you usually feel a bit destroyed after the first day of testing there! The best training is to practice your sport…but that's impossible for us. So you need to adapt, and to adapt the training with the exercises to be ready as you can or to minimise the problems or complaints you will have. I do a lot of mountain bike but I like cycling generally. I don't think you can take the mountain bike and replicate when you are doing on the race bike. It is still so different. In the gym your only thoughts are about conditioning and trying to improve your muscle strength, not about making a particular corner faster.
When I’m at home I don't like to have a schedule. I have a personal trainer but I like to be free with my days and train when I feel like I want to. Some days I’m tired and I know I still need to do something but that's different to having an obligation and being in a special place at a special time. We’re more relaxed about it. I’ll get up with my brother and we’ll say ‘OK, let’s cycle today, we’ll go at 9.30” rather than stressing about being somewhere at 8.45 for example. I live in a small town which means in the winter to go cycling almost doesn't feel like training. In November and December I try to disconnect from everything. I don't have a routine. We might ride motocross with some friends but we’ll be laughing afterwards, so it is like a workout…but not!
The physical side of what we do is important but the mental side is even more so. You can be so good in training but your mentality is 80% of the job. Maybe that equation is lower in something like motocross because good conditioning will really help, but here in MotoGP no. Training can assist in setting your confidence and to know inside yourself that you are ready; then you need to work with the team and the feeling on the bike for the rest.
When you change the category then you always change your training. I would not say less work but maybe different intensity to gain more power. I remember the priority in Moto3 was always to be light. So you do a lot of repetition with a 3kg weight but easily. You try to be tired but not too much! I was 59kg at one point and I’m tall and it meant bicycle everyday and going a bit crazy. That was not healthy. When I got up from the sofa I was seeing stars. Going to Moto2 I was able to work out normally and double the weights to get more power. Experience also helps. I have my brother there who says things like “when I changed from Moto3 to Moto2 I tried this and it was better” but everyone is different. It depends on your body. We’re lucky that our personal trainer – a friend – also rides a bike so he knows what we need. You might have the best trainer in the world but if he doesn't know much about your sport then I don't think it is much help. I train a lot with Marc.
I’m lucky that I like food without sauces. I like healthy food, grilled food. I don't like steak with sauce and fries. I enjoy simple plates. I’m not super-strict either. If I have a good race and I feel like having a pizza and an ice-cream the next day then I’ll do it. McDonalds? I like going there but I don't like the burgers! I’ll always have a wrap. I’m lucky that I also don't have to worry about any allergies or intolerances.
When I’m at home for a few days and I haven’t done anything then I start to get a bit anxious. Training is like a part of my life that has to be fulfilled. I might go for a run for just twenty minutes but then I’ll arrive home like a different person. So, in the end, I guess I kinda like it and it’s been part of my life since I was eleven. It started as a game and then became more professional. I need to burn some calories every day! I cannot understand people that don't do any kind of sport.
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