Canadian brothers Dean and Dylan Moriarity are tired of finishing behind the world's top two Ice Cross Downhill stars Cameron Naasz and Scott Croxall. The dynamic duo, twin brothers from Montreal, are determined to give the world champions of the previous two seasons the battle of their lives in the next season.
Dean Moriarity has finished third overall the last two seasons and his twin brother Dylan got off to a brilliant start and was heading for his best-ever season in 2015/16 with back-to-back podiums before getting injured. But disappointed as they are about only coming close, the Canadian brothers are determined to shake off the tag as "Nearly Men" for never quite winning the championship of the world's fastest sport on skates and will be working extra hard in the off-season. Dean Moriarity believes he can win the championship next winter.
"I have a monkey on my back just like Scott (Croxall) did for the past years before he won the world title," said Dean Moriarity, confident that he can shake off his back-to-back third places overall in the world championship the last two seasons to push for the title next season. Croxall made it to the finals 13 times before finally winning his first race in Helsinki in 2015 -- and then he went on to win the championship that season. "I'm happy with my podiums for the past two years but my goal is always to do better and that means first or second place overall," said Dean, who like his brother Dylan is 22.
Dean has been red-hot over the last two seasons with three podiums and four finals appearances in the last eight Red Bull Crashed Ice races -- a high degree of consistency -- that was only eclipsed by Naasz (USA) and Croxall (CAN). "Consistency is a big part of being successful in this sport," he said. "Coming third for the second time shows me that I'm right up there with the best in the sport and that I have what it takes to go to the top."
Dean Moriarity (centre) is hoping to squeeze out of the shadows of Croxall (left) and Naasz (right) next season. Photo: Sebastian Marko/Red Bull Content Pool.
Dean Moriarity said that he thought he had trained hard last summer but realized Naasz had trained even harder. After taking a short break after the last season, they started to gear up their off season training already in May. "If you're not in the gym, at the skate park and on the ice as much as the other guys, they will have a big advantage when the season starts," he said. "I know that last year we trained hard, but Cameron did a lot of work as well and he had that little edge on us. So that means this year, we have to do that much more to beat him." The brothers stand 5'7" (just over 170 cm) and use their low center of gravity and explosive speed to great advantage in the world's fastest sport on skates.
"I think next season is going to be a competitive one," said Dean Moriarity. "The sport is growing and everyone is training hard to get to the top. I'm excited to see where the races will be held and what they will look like. Yes, I think I could win the championship next year. My goal is always to do better than the previous season, so anything less than third wouldn't be acceptable."
His twin brother Dylan got off to an even better start to the last season with a fourth place at the season opener in Quebec City, Canada and second place at the first Riders Cup race in Wagrain-Kleinarl, Austria. That came after Dylan's strong second place at Belfast late in the previous season and fifth place overall in 2015. He seemed headed for a great season. But he badly injured his ankle in the Riders Cup race but still managed to finish second and needed surgery and a metal plate to repair the damage.
"I felt I was headed for a great season," said Dylan. "It was really frustrating after the great start I had. I felt I was really prepared. It happened on the last jump in the finals. I just went too high and landed on it too hard. I needed surgery to put a plate in my ankle but it can be taken out after a year. I was off skates for two months but I'm happy to say I made a full recovery and started skating again.
Dylan Moriarity (left) got off to a flying start last season but a bad injury ended his challenge early on. Photo: Mark Roe/Red Bull Content Pool.
"We're both going to train harder than anyone else and to be the best we can be," said Moriarity. "Me and my brother are two of the youngest guys on the tour and both of us being in the top five is great but we're always looking to be better, and if you don't think you can be first, it's not going to happen. You have to have the right mentality."