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Ben already was on a gluten-free diet because he’s allergic to bread, but in addition to watching their diets, they are to work out, everything from lifting weights to running to yoga, for 2-3 hours a day, the program being broken into two five-week sessions.
“I’m real excited to have this given to us because I’ve been all on my own in the past,” when it comes to training for the season, Ben said. He knows he’ll be in better shape to ride this season.
Jake agrees, “It’ll take commitment, but it’ll really make us better racers.”
Naturally the racing itself will be vastly different too, but Ben and Jake are open to the new challenge.
“I think it’s good to not have 15 guys all lined up to race (for a hole shot). In cross country they are all spread out at the start,” Jake says.
Ben says though that he tends to “do better when there’s someone around me and pushing me a bit.” Still, he’s not worried about the new form of racing and even adds that being inexperienced makes this season seem even more exciting to him.
“I haven’t seen any snocross racers get into cross country and not like it,” Jake says.
Both are excited about running a 4-stroke race sled this season, noting that you don’t have to worry about carbs or jetting like with a 2-stroke.
“Basically we’re racing a stock sled,” Ben says. “Much more a stock sled than in snocross,” Jake adds.
While Ben is from Minnesota and Jake from Wisconsin, both have similar backgrounds, starting with riding with their dads as toddlers.
“I started after I was walking, just holding onto my dad’s bars as we rode. We did a lot of trail riding,” Ben says. “My dad strapped me on to him when I was little and we’d ride,” Jake adds.
First sleds?
Ben’s was a Yamaha Enticer while Jake’s was an Arctic Cat El Tigre 500.
Down the road, Jake plans to go into the Coast Guard and study meteorology while Ben is looking into some type of engineering, and (no surprise here) is hoping eventually to work for a snowmobile manufacturer.
“This is what I’d like to be around the rest of my life,” Ben says.