Takes 3rd place in event
In the last three years, 15-year-old Stone Edler has broken both his collar bone and his wrist three times, has cracked both his tibia and fibula and has had three teeth knocked out.
But injuries are just part of the game for the Destrehan High School sophomore, who just happens to be one of the top motocross racers in the nation in his age group.
From 2008-2010, Edler made a name for himself by winning the Las Vegas World Mini Nationals twice, while also capturing first place in both the Ponca City Nationals and the Daytona AMA National. Those achievements landed him on the cover of three separate racing magazines.
So it’s no surprise that when United States’ officials were looking for racers to represent the country in France, Edler was on their list.
The MX Master race is put together by a French promoter and all proceeds go towards charity. Each country hand-picks a number of riders to represent their country, and this year the Americans chose eight riders, including Edler.
The French track was filled with plenty of jumps, bowl corners, elevation changes and straight-aways, but before Edler could even get on the track he was faced with obstacles of his own.
“My father, Lance, and I brought our suspension but it didn’t arrive in France on time and the promoter wasn’t able to supply us with our own bike so we had to share the bike with another American rider,” Edler said.
Not only was Edler unable to customize the bike to his own preferences, but the racer he shared with rode right before Edler’s event.
“So he had to ride it up to the gates and give it to us before the gate dropped, meaning that the clutches and suspension were already hot and wore out after 20 minutes of racing,” Edler said.
The Destrehan racer still managed to finish in third place even after a bad start.
“It was a great accomplishment, but I had to come from last place and work my way up to third because the bike bogged out of the gates,” Edler said.
Despite the troubles he encountered, Edler said going to France was a great experience.
“It was awesome to see how other countries live,” he said. “But even though the people in everyday life were extremely different, the people at the track were all the same. You can always count on your fellow motocross family, no matter what country your in.”
Edler, who rides for sponsors including Yamaha, Arma Energy SNX, No-Fear, Dunlop Tires, Roost Graphics and several other big companies, is gearing up for the Loretta Lynn Amateur National Motocross Championships, which is held in the first week of August.
The event is considered the biggest race of the year.
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