Fuelled and motor-vated: Kurt's passion for motocross sees him go back to the US

Mr Shields will be flying to the US to compete in the 2024 Monster Energy Mammoth Motocross event from Friday, June 21.

"If you know that you've done the work and you've done the laps and you've put in the effort, the only nerves really come from the excitement of what's going to happen and how it all turns out," he said.

The Wodonga resident has previously travelled to the US in 2023 for the Dubya World Vet MX Championships and placed eighth worldwide in his class.

He has also previously ridden in the United Kingdom as a professional speedway rider.

Despite the injuries he has received over the years, including his hands splitting open while competing last year, he is eager to get back onto the track, which he says may be his last big event.

The motocross event has been held in the US every summer since 1968 and attracts the best riders in America.

He said he is looking forward to the warmer weather and the thrill of competition again.

"Obviously once you race and you get into it, you want to do more and you want to do better and that's where the best competition is," he said.

"So to go there and compete with those guys is the ultimate goal."

He will be picking up a brand new bike and gear when he is overseas, and will spend a week at the course to get acclimated, as it is at an 8000 feet elevation.

His wife Tabatha Shields and their three children, Elliya, 18, Lewis, 12, and Ruben, 7, will be travelling with him to watch him compete.

Both of his sons are looking at following the footsteps of their father and are considering becoming full-time professional riders as well.

Mr Shields said generations of his family have competed in the sport and he grew up watching his father ride.

"They were quite good at teaching the ways of how it works overseas, how to prepare yourself," he said.

"So I kind of had a lot of coaching support to get there."

The professional rider is also a sergeant in the Australian Army at Latchford Barracks and works as a physical training instructor.

To balance both of his passions, he said he focuses on what he can control which is a lot of time in the gym.

"A lot of time focused on the skill set that I have, which is training and fitness," he said.

"So I do everything that I can there off the bike and then manage the weekends with as much on the bike as I can.

He said he has appreciated the support of the Albury-Wodonga community and it is one of his favourite places to be.

"It's a very close-knit military community," he said.

"So a lot of ex-serving members are more than happy to jump on board and help out any way they can."