Anyone talking to 14-year-old Glen Meier about his future career in motocross soon gets the message: this talented young man is aiming for the top. The Danish youngster picked up his first major trophy last weekend at the Holzgerlingen motocross circuit in Baden-Württemberg. Meier rounded off his ADAC MX Junior Cup campaign in style, claiming both the winner's trophy on Sunday and the 2013 championship. "I've been in great form all season," says Meier with evident pride. "I rode faster and better than everyone else, and winning the title is acknowledgement for that. It's a nice feeling to reap the rewards for all the hard work you've put in."

The ADAC MX Junior Cup for riders aged 15 and under is considered to be a forging ground for young talent. Many of the big names in motocross today such as Ken Roczen started out in the series. Meier is well aware of the precedent and has accordingly set high goals for himself in 2014: he plans to make the move up to the next class, namely the ADAC MX Youngster Cup. In addition, he would like to ride in next year's European EMX 125 Championship. Meier, who comes from Trige near Aarhus, has so far been restricted to riding an 85cc machine, the maximum size permitted in the ADAC MX Junior Cup.

He attends a school specialising in sport where he is encouraged and enabled to improve his performance and to pursue his chosen career. "I invest a lot of time and energy in the sport. During the week, I have two days of training on my bike; I also spend at least four hours per day in the gym working on my physical fitness." The teachers allow the teenager plenty of leeway when he is competing in a race; he generally gets Fridays and Mondays off so that he can prepare and recuperate.

The ADAC MX Junior Cup winner has never had the feeling that motocross has crept up on him, because the sport has always had a major presence in his family. "My older brother Kenneth (25) and my older sister Heidi (19) are motocross riders themselves, and my father works as a mechanic, so we talk a lot about tracks and motorbikes anyway," he says with a smile. Family members will generally be on hand whenever the youngster is competing in a race. But this is characteristic of the Danish culture: "My family make me very proud. My father especially comes out with some well-chosen words of encouragement before I go out on the track." The family support seems to have been very effective, and he can now enjoy celebrating his newly won title with them.