THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT: Rocked, but Breece back on his bike

It was just an ordinary parade lap for Coeur d’Alene native Ryan Breece, like any other that he’s taken right before a motocross event.

Until, he got rocked, and couldn’t get up.

Ten months later, Breece is back up and back home, ready for whatever comes next.

BREECE WAS competing in the pro motocross nationals in Pala, Calif., when his season came to a sudden end in October.

“I just stuck my (left) leg out and hit a rock on the course during the parade lap right before the race started,” Breece said. “Then I heard this big clunk.”

Keep in mind, with the coronavirus, fans were not allowed in most venues.

“I’d torn my MCL, ACL and meniscus,” said Breece, 25. “I had to have a complete knee reconstruction. I knew what I did, and felt it right away. I just laid there on the ground and the EMTs got me back up and I just rode off the course."

When the injury happened, for a while, Breece felt like that was the last ride.

“When I heard the snap in my knee, I was done,” Breece said. “It was the last injury I wanted to take in. But with the people around me, Justin Kane (of North Idaho Physical Therapy) and my doctor, they both told me you can get past this.”

For Breece, who won the German 450CC Supercross title in February, it was the end to an odd 2020 season.

“I was coming off the German championships and touched back down in America,” Breece said. “We were riding from January to March, then COVID hit when we were heading to a race. I flew back to Idaho and then all of a sudden, everything was canceled.”

In May, motocross events were held in Salt Lake City for seven straight weeks to close out the season.

“We were one of the first sports to get back going,” Breece said. “That was basically the hit for us last summer.”

Again, with no fans.

“It was non-fulfilling,” Breece said. “You could hear guys talking to each other on the starting line, which was different because usually the crowd is so into it, we can’t even hear our own bikes. It was kind of a big storm there at the end and whoever could finish the tour strong, that was money.”

TO REHAB his knee, Breece spent time at North Idaho Physical Therapy, working with Kane, to build his strength again.

“I’m in a hyperbolic chamber for an hour and go to the swimming pool,” Breece said. “At the six/seven-month period, I started to cycle some 100 miles a week and then started running 15 miles a week to see what my body could take, but also not go over the limit.”

That work, Breece added, has put him in great shape.

“I feel really good,” Breece said. “I’m back maybe 10 times stronger, my body feels like.”

Breece, a 2013 graduate of Coeur d’Alene High, returned to racing last weekend at an event in Bonners Ferry.

“Just to see the fans; it brings my heart rate up,” Breece said. “I didn’t really talk to anyone and just kept grinding to get back. To go to a packed house, and you’re the guy, I felt like I was in my element again and where I belong.”

The Arenacross event, which began Friday at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds, concludes tonight with racing starting at 7.

“It’s going to be awesome,” Breece said. “I think I’ll be amused by it all. I’m going to do a giveaway for the best ‘Ryan Breece’ sign to whoever does the most creative sign. I’m just excited to be back around all the people.”

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at (208) 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @JECdAPress.