The scrub is one of the most spectacular maneuvers seen in motocross. The riders do not just do it facing the gallery, but this modern technique saves valuable time when tackling the jumps.


Some will say, and they will be right, that riders of the 70s and 80s already jumped with their bikes fully inclined, and that Jeremy McGrath already applied his BMX experience in the 90s to "absorb" jumps in supercross. But there is no doubt that the pioneer in mastering and definitively promoting the modern technique of jumping in motocross has been the American James Stewart . In fact, the scrub was initially known as the "Bubba Scrub," in honor of Stewart, who at the Budds Creek American Circuit during the 2003 Nationals season blew everyone away by tilting his KX 125 just right. at the entrance of a pyramid jump to catch less flight and land with your mount as soon as possible. "Stewart does some very strange things with the bike",Ricky Carmichael himself said then.


Be that as it may, Stewart's gesture allowed him to gain time in the jumps, so soon more and more pilots began to copy it and nowadays even the kids at 65 can be seen "scrutinizing". A maneuver that nowadays seems Essential in the repertoire of any cross rider who intends to reach the top internationally . Since, in addition, it has conditioned the design of the circuits since its appearance, with steeper jumps and specific obstacles where not scrubbing means wasting valuable time. Its use implies great benefits, but it also requires good technique and a high level of skill on the part of the pilot. However, like everything else, with a lot of practice we can control it, as the Navarrese rider Ander Valentín has done -twice MX2 Champion of Spain and MXGP rider in 2016-, who has explained to us the keys to the scrub and how we can train it.


Theory

The purpose of doing a scrub is clear; reduce the flight time in a jump so that the wheels touch the ground again as soon as possible and thus be able to open the gas, which is the fastest way to go on a motorcycle. This technique allows us, let's say, "fly faster", because although we travel the same meters horizontally, the ones between the ramp of a jump and its reception, we ascend less vertically; with which we draw a less accentuated parabola and therefore shorter and faster. «In addition to the time we gain by spending less seconds in the air - Ander Valentin explains -,The great advantage of doing a scrub is that it allows us to tackle a jump at a higher speed than normal, without this meaning that we go long at the reception. In fact, the gesture consists precisely in that, in avoiding the last part of the jump ramp, making it shorter and smaller, so that we can get there much faster without fear of going over. "


Indeed, "scrub" in English means "rubbing", which is what must be done with the motorcycle against the crest of a jump, in such a way that the wheels barely touch the ground and thus avoid touching the last part of the ramp. The gain is double, because in addition to shortening the ramp, we also "kill" the rebound of the suspensionsAlthough they extend, they do so when the bike is already lying flat and parallel to the ground, causing only the sidewalls of the wheels to rub - or "scrub" - across the ground, but without catapulting us up into the air. In summary, the theoretical advantages of doing a scrub are that we can enter a jump much faster without passing the landing ramp, and that we also reduce the flight time by providing a shorter ramp and also by limiting the rebound effect of suspensions.

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Practice

Entry

"We must approach the ramp with a path not straight, but a bit diagonal - Ander tells us - and towards the opposite side to which we are going to do the scrub." In other words, if in the air we are going to lean the bike to the right, we will jump a little to the left, almost as if we wanted to land outside the circuit. It is also advisable to arrive with enough speed, more than normal for the same jump, so we will accelerate enough before reaching the ramp. If you hesitate and enter slowly, the rear wheel will touch the ridge and we will exit through the ears. Once on the crest of the ramp, we must not touch any of the controls; neither accelerator, nor clutch nor neither of the two brakes. Eye! especially in the “scrubs” to the left, not to press the rear brake before taking off, because then the motorcycle will send us thrown head first as soon as the rear wheel touches the crest of the jump blocked ».


Scrub

«When the front wheel is already in the last meter of the ramp, we will turn the handlebar towards the inside and we will lay down the motorcycle, exerting force with the arms and the knee from the outside, and at the same time taking the foot from the inside from the stirrup. It should be a quick gesture, pushing the bike down as if we wanted to put it under us , while standing straight on it. We will notice how the front wheel slides right on the crest of the jump and then, when the bike is knocked down, how the rear wheel starts to lift off the ground ».


Flight and landing

«Once in the air, we will stay with the body straight, with the outside foot resting strongly on the footrest , with which we will have a good balance on the bike. Immediately, with the arms, which at that moment must be extended, we will firmly pull the handlebar upwards and we will also use force with our knees on the tank to try to straighten the motorcycle. As always, we must accelerate before the wheels touch the ground to ensure a safer landing. That will help us stabilize the bike in the event of a somewhat uncontrolled landing. "

How to train

First of all, it should be noted that doing a scrub requires a medium-high level of riding , especially with enough experience to know and master the reactions of the motorcycle in the air well. "It is not a really complicated maneuver in itself ," Ander tells us, " because there are other things that are more difficult to do in motocross. But of course, since it is a jump and requires a certain speed, the blow in the event of a fall will surely be stronger than, for example, practicing ruts . We have all fallen at some time training to do a “scrub”. The most appropriate thing is to try it first in pyramid jumps, not very high or pronounced, because there the speed is lower and you do not fly much. We will enter the ramp a little faster than usual and we will try to incline the bike slightly at the summit. We have to try many times, bowing slightly to the beginning, and gradually increasing to know the reactions of the bike, and also how we find ourselves more comfortable doing the maneuver " .

“ Because this is the same as jumping, there is no single, exclusive and mathematical way of jumping, but it depends a bit on the characteristics of the obstacle itself and also on our particular way of riding. Once we are getting out, it is convenient to train the scrub both for the right and for the left, since in races sometimes we will have to do it to one side or the other depending on what the jump or the competition itself requires. By the way, it is important to note that the scrub helps us improve our speed on the track, but it is also a tiring technique due to the strength we use with our arms and legs., so it is not advisable to do it in all the jumps and during all the laps. It has to be seen more as a resource to set a very fast lap, to gain time in a certain specific jump, to increase the pace to distance ourselves from an opponent who is closely following us, and also to overtake », concludes our young teacher Ander Valentin.