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En Vogue




He didn’t fall in love with the sport instantly, but with injury having forced him out of MXGP - and almost ending his motorcycle career - Antoine Meo is now enjoying life as one of the world’s fastest enduro riders

Antoine Meo has a wry smile on his face. Slumped in a camping chair outside the CH Racing Husqvarna team’s race transporter the Frenchman is mid-way through changing out of his riding kit. Dressed in next to nothing he’s engrossed in one thing, and one thing only – the Enduro 1 class results from day one of the GP of Finland.
“One second,” he says, briefly looking up from the results. “I lost six seconds on the Friday night Super Test when I fell, and 20 seconds when I made a mistake on the first test this morning. And I finished as runner-up by one-second.” Shaking his head Antoine puts the results down and finishes readying himself for the prize giving ceremony.

Despite his jovial attitude Antoine knows that his name should have been at the top of the E1 class results. Every bit as fast as home riders Eero Remes and E1 championship leader Mika Ahola, Meo knows he should have won day one of the GP of Finland. But he didn’t, and that’s racing. Rather than beating himself up about the fact that he messed up he simply scans the results once again. Winning twice as many special tests as any other E1 class rider Antoine knows his day will come.

Antoine, like countryman Johnny Aubert, is one of the motocross-to-enduro success stories. With a sudden and sizeable influx of motocross riders to the World Enduro Championship in recent years Meo, unlike some, quickly proved that he has what it takes to compete with the very best. Just one-and-a-half seasons into his WEC career the Frenchman’s maiden victory certainly isn’t too far away.

What brought Antoine to enduro is typical of why many former motocross racers make the switch. Missing from action during nearly all of the ’07 MX1 world championship through injury, when he was finally ready to go racing once again he couldn’t find a ride. That’s when opportunity, in the form of CH Racing Husqvarna team manager Fabrizio Azzalin, came knocking on his door.

“In ’07 I had a really big injury to my knee,” explains Antoine, lifting his shorts to reveal a badly scarred left knee. “I was out for eight months because I needed a complete reconstruction. It was a big operation. When I was over the injury, back riding again, and fit and healthy I wasn’t able to find a good deal for the next season. I had always had a good relationship with Fabrizio and after a few conversations we started talking about me racing in the WEC.”
Initially Antoine was sceptical about leaving motocross. Coming close to hanging up his boots all together following his injury he finally decided to give the WEC a try. Planning on doing one season of enduro before trying to find a ride back in motocross, Antoine quickly gelled with woods racing as well as enjoying the more relaxed atmosphere of enduro world championship events.

“I’m pleased I didn’t stop racing because I’m really enjoying myself now. Initially the idea was to do one season of enduro and then look at returning to motocross. I really enjoy riding motocross but the world championship races, well, I am having more fun now than I was in MX GP. At first it was very different to what I was used to but after one-year I really started to like it. It’s hard for a motocross rider to start with, but now I really like enduro.”
Switching to enduro when he did Antoine joined the WEC at a time when former motocross racing Frenchmen were very much in fashion. With Johnny Aubert showing in no uncertain terms that French motocross racers could deliver the goods, win races, and win championships, Antoine seemed to be following in Aubert’s footsteps.
“It might look like I decided to switch to enduro because I could see how well Johnny Aubert was doing, but that had nothing to do with it,” explains Antoine. “When I was racing motocross for Husqvarna in ’05 I asked them to prepare a 125 for me, so I could compete in the French WEC GP. That was just for fun.

“The first day went really well – I was fighting with Cervantes and Belometti. I made mistakes, crashed, but really enjoyed myself. I had a lot of offers to come to enduro after that, from many teams. But I had a good deal with Honda and wanted to stay in motocross. But that’s when I started thinking about enduro.

Working with Azzalin and the CH Racing Husqvarna team ensured that Antoine’s transition from motocross to enduro was made easier than it could have been. Not needing to get to know the team and reasonably familiar with his machinery and the working practices of the Varese factory, Meo was instead able to focus on learning what was needed in order to win races.

“You can’t compare a team manager like Fabrizio to any of the team managers I worked with in motocross,” offers Meo. “He’s funny, crazy, serious, passionate, hard working. But he is more like a friend than a team manager. I have a really good relationship with him. Sometimes it’s difficult because he is Italian and sometimes too passionate, but I really enjoy being a part of the team.”

At the start of ’08 Antoine came out all guns blazing and topped the Genoa Indoor Enduro, beating one of the very best in the business in the process – David Knight. Overnight Meo went from little know former motocross racer to seriously hot property.

“The season started really well because I won the Genoa Indoor Enduro, which was a surprise. I didn’t know what an extreme test was really so I just tried to find really hard terrain near my home and ride on that. I started riding my enduro bike on trial terrain. I learned a lot doing that, and winning in Genoa was great.”

Seemingly taking to the always-unpredictable indoor enduro scene like the proverbial duck to water, what everyone wanted to know was could Meo deliver the goods outdoors, in the WEC, where it really mattered?
In at the deep end Meo’s first ‘true’ enduro would be the snow covered GP of Sweden. With the long snow ruts, frozen ground, and spiked tyres night and day different to what he was used to as a GP motocross racer Meo finished fifth and sixth in the E2 class aboard his WR250. Not bad.

As the year progressed Antoine mixed some seriously impressive results with beginners mistakes and a little bad luck. Come the end of the year he placed fifth in the E2 championship standings, which when you consider he failed to score any points at all on three separate days isn’t too bad. Importantly Antoine showed that he had the potential to win, which is what Husqvarna wanted and needed.

“I made some big mistakes, like in Portugal and Spain. But I think that it was quite a good season for me really,” explains Meo when asked about his rookie season. “I learned a lot.”

Interestingly, Antoine chooses to pick out the low points of his first full WEC season, rather than mentioning the highlights. Where many riders would be more than pleased to have finished fifth in their debut season, Meo looks back on it knowing that he made mistakes. Mistakes that have to be removed if he is to reach the very top of the sport.

During his ‘learning year’ Antoine did just that. Showing flashes of brilliance while adjusting to a world very different to that of GP motocross, Meo adapted well and despite occasional disappointment ended the year on a high with a double podium result at the final event of the season.

“You have to learn many things because motocross and enduro are very different. Sure, a fast motocross rider can come to enduro and do well. But to do well in all conditions at all races is different. For example my first WEC race in ’08 was the GP of Sweden, in the snow. You have to learn and understand racing with spiked tyres in the snow. You also have to understand how and when to go fast. And you have to know where your limit is and that you can’t always push 100 per cent. The technical, slow speed sections are probably the hardest for motocross riders. That’s where I’ve trained and worked the hardest.”

Today Antoine is one of the WEC’s fastest extreme test riders, having, until recently, never spent any time riding a trials bike. At the GP of Finland he was the fastest rider on the extreme test on both days, showing just how serious he is about reaching the top.

“You have to work hard at the things you are not so good at,” admits Antoine. “You have to train hard. I have a really good training area at my home in France. I have a motocross track, a motocross special test, an extreme test, and an enduro test. Everything I need to become a better enduro racer. I think that if you are serious about winning you have to have your own tracks. It doesn’t matter if it is supercross or enduro you need to be training hard all the time. Enduro has changed. You have to train hard and work at things.”

Working hard is starting to pay off for Antoine. Although still yet to climb on top of a WEC podium he’s getting closer. At the halfway point of the ’09 championship Meo has finished on the podium seven times out of eight starts. He’s been fast in all conditions, at all events, and on all different types of special tests.
But this season, as well as wanting to win the E1 world title, Antoine wants to continue learning, which is partly why he switched to a 250cc four-stroke for ’09 and away from the E2 class.

“I think that to be a really good enduro rider you need to start at the bottom with a small bike,” says Meo. “You have to find your speed through good lines, and not the power of the bike. That’s why I wanted to ride the 250cc four-stoke. I have to find my limit on the special tests. When you have a bigger bike it is harder to do that. I am really enjoying riding the smaller bike.”

Winning the ’09 Enduro 1 world championship is a big ask, especially as defending class champion Mika Ahola has so far showed no signs of weakness during the first half of the championship while amassing a sizeable points advantage. But that’s what Antoine wants to do.

“I want to beat Mika because he is the best in my class and one of the very fastest riders in the WEC,” explains Meo honestly. “It’s funny because with Mika it is like trying to beat one of your friends. In motocross I never had that feeling. I think we both have a lot of respect for each other and at the end of the day we are able to speak about our performances. That’s one of the things I enjoy about enduro.”
So one-and-a-half season into his enduro ‘career’ is Antoine still hoping to return to motocross, or is he planning on sticking with racing between trees?

“My future is with enduro, that is for certain. I still love motocross, and it’s great training, so I want to find a good deal where I can have a good bike for enduro, and a good bike to compete in some motocross events. I want to stay in enduro but I want to do some important motocross races. I think I’m in a good place in the world championship now – I have a good team, a good bike, and I am riding well. I’m enjoying my racing and focused on winning.”

From DRD issue #49