Kevin Horgmo gives the inside look at his weekend in Italy as he battled the Arco de Trento circuit. Always showing brilliant speed and confidence, he had to also battle injury. Somebody needs to get this guy a factory ride.

Kevin Horgmo - My Trentino

Round five of the World Motocross Championship was run on the spectacular track of Arco di Trento, in the middle of the mountains of the Trentino region, not far from Lake Garda.

After the last race, I've been here this week with only cycling and recovery. The goal was to give my body and especially my shoulder the best possible rest after I dislocated it in Sardinia last weekend.

Saturday: I had a good feeling right from the start. In practice, I didn't set any optimal laps, but in time qualifying I delivered my best time qualifying so far in MXGP – was in 2nd place for a long time and finished in a strong 4th place, not far behind the best time.

Unfortunately, the qualifying heat was characterized by bad luck. The ride felt good, and I was heading up the field after a bad start, but was hit by another riders who hit my front wheel and destroyed the brake disc. I had to ride the last laps without a front brake but managed to secure a 16th place and a usable starting position for Sunday's finals.

Sunday: At warm-up I had the 4th best time and felt ready for the first heat. Heat 1: The goal was to get through the first lap unscathed, but after a start around 12th place, I was pushed into a mud hole by a rider and I went over the handlebars. I started again far back in the field, around 22nd-23rd place, but drove my way up to 10th place before I was hindered by a rider who was one lap behind. He suddenly stopped when I was passing by. I hit his rear wheel and crashed again. The board was skewed, but I made it to the finish line in 14th place and took 7 important points. Good riding, but frustrating bad luck.

Heat 2: A better start this time, just outside the top 10. Already during the first round, I was up to 8th-9th place. I drove at a good speed and pushed the rider in front. Several of them made mistakes and crashed, and eventually I was suddenly in a strong 5th place.

I matched the lap times of the leader in the last half of the heat and caught up with the riders in front, but the gap to 4th place was just a little too big. I'm incredibly happy with the queue place was just a little too big. I'm incredibly happy with the riding – solid, controlled and with a good flow. It was also good to feel that luck was on my side in the last heat, and that I could take advantage of other people's mistakes for once.

The bike worked optimally, and the body felt strong. With 14th and 5th place, I finished 8th overall for the weekend, but the most important thing was the feeling I had on the bike and the clear progress. Now I'm gearing up for round 6 already next weekend in Switzerland – MXGP of Switzerland. I feel really good on the bike during the day, and that bodes well for the future! Thank you so much to everyone who follows, supports and contributes! — Kevin Horgmo

Photos by @evaszabadfi_photo