Image: Spencer Owens / Pro Motocross

On the heels of a collarbone injury sustained during the Supercross championship, Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Adam Cianciarulo is healed and ready to contend for the 2021 Pro Motocross championship.

Cianciarulo put up a solid fight during his rookie Pro Motocross campaign in 2020, finishing second in the championship after taking two overall wins and finishing all but one race inside the top five.

His Supercross season, however, saw him hit the ground hard at Orlando 2, ending his season eight rounds in with a collarbone injury and subsequent surgery required to repair the damage.

Now recovered from his injury, Cianciarulo admits there were lingering effects with the plated bone, but he’s had ample time to prepare ahead of the first round of the outdoor series on Saturday at Fox Raceway.

“The prep has gone well,” Cianciarulo explains. “I think I got on the bike like a week before, maybe a week and a half before the Atlanta rounds. It was definitely more sore than I thought it was going to be.

“Where they put the plate is really close to the inside of my collarbone, pretty close to my neck and all of that stuff. My doctor up in Vail told me it’s not going to feel super comfortable all summer long, so it’s definitely something I plan on taking out as soon as the season’s over.”

Regardless of the injury, Cianciarulo has had extended time to prepare and excitement over bike changes made to his Kawasaki 450, he has to be considered a contender for the 2021 450MX title.

“With that being said, I feel really confident with my preparation,” he continued. “You know, I think the first two or three weeks I was kind of just going through the motions, just getting the feeling back on the bike and that kind of stuff.

“Once I started to kind of pick up the pace and do some motos I started feeling really good and a lot of those good feelings came back to me pretty quickly. So excited about that, excited with some of the changes we’ve made on the bike, feeling comfortable.

“You obviously never know til you race, but yeah it’s been a while since I’ve been out there. Miss the weekends, miss the gate drops so, very excited to get back.”