From the outside looking in, it seems like you’re making a few more mistakes than usual, first at the end of last season and then the start of this one. What’s going on?

Well I’d hate to think it was my head, but I do think it might be inside my head. In South Africa though it was just 100% an unlucky accident, I came out of a turn and my foot was a little bit wonky on the pedals and I just carried on. I landed off the drop–off as normal, but because it was quite a big drop, the force popped my foot off the pedal and slammed it into the floor. I didn’t even crash or anything, but I was in pain straight away and had to move off the track.

I mean I think about that at the moment, how I might be a bit more mature about how I ride, and I know this is what some people think, but to me I wasn’t showing off in South Africa. Yes, it was a hard line that was scary to do, but it was clearly faster or I wouldn’t have done it otherwise. That was a line that I had down that I’d already done perfectly twice, and I felt there was a second or a second and a half in it, so I’ve got no idea why no one else was doing it. Sam (Hill) and me talked about it, and he didn’t fancy doing it cause he was scared of it, so I did it anyway, and ended up hurting myself in my quali run…and that was that. I guess my crash then scared off anybody else that might have been thinking about it…

In my run at Champery last year I did get a bit loose in the middle, but I didn’t even realise until the finish that I was the only person doing the lines I was doing in the wet at the bottom. I didn’t really think about it, and I wasn’t doing those lines to cause a reaction or anything, it was just how I saw it as I went down the track. This is something I’ve thought about since, maybe with some of my choices I do need to be a bit more mature, not doing a gnarly or difficult line if it is not 100% the fastest option over the whole of the track, or seeing if it’s just too risky.

Well only in my head, there’s no actual timing. I don’t know why we haven’t looked at this sort of thing, telemetry or anything or testing different settings – I know others do it, but that’s just the way it’s been on the Monster team. It’s probably Sam’s legacy really, he’s been confident doing it his way. For me, I just know I’m not as powerful as some of those boys on the pedal, so I have to find some seconds elsewhere on the track.

In Leogang it has to be just his pure power and strength. It was hard physical work in the corners, and pedalling in deep mud in places, and he is clipped in, which helps on bits like that. He’s got a good head on him, he’s trained well, and now he is confident from that, and is putting it all together. Obviously he’s an amazing technical rider as well. At Fort William, I don’t really know how he was so quick there, but it’s got to be down to being strong and powerful and having good technical skills – that’s all it can be.

It is worrying, you’re right, because I want to stay up there and stay in contact. Last year I had a couple of third places and I was on the pace, up and around the top spots, and I knew where my strengths were. I needed to put some work in on my power and fitness to close that gap. I did the training, and at South Africa I felt more confident in my head knowing I’d done way more work than any other season for me. Now something has backfired and I’ve got an injury and it’s just been so gutting. It’s devastating that I’ve already lost half a season. But still in my head I’m confident I can ride that fast. I’m never worried about how quick I can ride on the track, how fast I am, just about how I can miss half of this season and still get back into condition in time.

I wouldn’t get paid. I’m contracted to race and I wouldn’t get paid to cut the season short. In terms of getting the operation done I’ve looked at a few surgeons to perform the procedure and talked to as many people as I can. Everyone seems to have a different opinion as to who the best person for the job is, but at the end of the day it’s down to doing it with someone you, or well me and my physio, trust. We’re looking at a four to six months for full recovery with training included to get as fit as you need to be to get racing again.

I just want to win a World Cup so bad. That’s my goal. The absolute main thing that I want to do, and I was 100% focussed on winning the World Champs at Champery this year as well.

Sam and me were watching Gwin’s bike trackside and talking about the same thing, the fork does look to be set pretty solid. I think you have to 100% target your physical strength to ride a bike set–up like that, and that’s something that Aaron and Gee are doing in terms of their training and approach, to be able to hold onto it through the rough sections and the holes. I’m not sure whether the maximum speed has gone up, and I don’t know if it’s got any harder. There are some more random results, but it seems like the people that have put the work in are coming through more. Hopefully I can get back to where I was. I’ve just got to see how this next few weeks pan out. If I can get some good training time, if I can get back up to speed, and get my confidence up again then so long as my knee holds out I still reckon I’ve got as much chance as anyone else to win the World Champs.

I guess I set my bike up for speed and grip, how I want it to feel at that time on the track. Over the years I’ve gone harder and harder and more damping on the back end to compensate for how I ride.

Yeah, I know what you mean, I’m aware of it. Maybe it’s just because I’m sketchy in my runs, and I’m hanging off the back of the bike! I think I must find a lot of my riding grip through the back tyre, more so than most. I mean my suspension has got harder at both ends, but I still like the fork to be supple at the beginning of the stroke and then get more progressive. It’s seems to me people get really fussy with their set–up only when things aren’t going well, it’s a psychological thing. I see people telling the mechanic to move their brake levers a millimetre or whatever.