The German has helped with the training and prep for several Grand Prix stars notably Josh Coppins, Gautier Paulin and Paul Cooper. He answered a few questions for us and the article can be found here. Below is an excerpt

The ‘all-action’ style of the younger generation of riders: is this a more physical way to race? Does it require more conditioning than the old days?

SN: That’s a good question. I think that the ‘new style’ requires a lot of fitness but at the same time the high technical abilities of the young riders is also saving energy. For me the biggest different is the rider’s attitude towards training. Riders like Joel Smets [five times world champion and record 500cc GP winner] and so on had the motivation and attitude to train very hard every day. That has changed a lot; nowadays you can see young riders often not putting in the hours and just trusting or relying on their talent. There is a different approach but the young generation are also successful and their methods clearly have some merit.

In your opinion is motocross becoming a sport for even younger people because of the demands now?

SN: You could say there is a tendency that the top riders are getting younger (like Roczen, Herlings). In the ‘80s it was impossible to think of a World Champion being 17 years old.

The kids now start much earlier and they also seem to learn quicker. Also the technical demands of modern motocross are suiting younger people more the older riders. It is similar to the demands of BMX and MTB Downhill. All of these sports have really raised their levels over the last few years.