Jay Marmont taxe Reed, dans la douleur …

Dur …

Super X rider Jay Marmont wins two days after baby girl’s death

By James Phelps

Marmont’s daughter Lila was born with a rare white cell disease / Supplied

WITH tears streaming down his face, Super X rider Jay Marmont walked onto the podium to collect his trophy after beating world No. 1 Chad Reed.

"This one is for my baby girl," he said. "She died two days ago."

The crowd of 9400 at Canberra Stadium went silent, The Daily Telegraph reports.

After the heartbreak of losing his "little angel", Wollongong-based rider Marmont was not supposed to ride in Saturday’s event, let alone win it.

Just seven months old, Lila Marmont lost a battle she had been fighting since the first day of her life. Born with a rare white cell disease, little Lila passed away at Marmont’s Woonona home on Thursday.

"She was everything to me," Marmont said.

"She was only here a little while but she will forever be with me. She was the love of my life."

It is impossible to understand Marmont’s pain. As he drove to Canberra from Wollongong, where he will bury his "angel" today, Marmont’s heartbreak turned to anger. He thought about running his car off the road as he struggled to comprehend life without his baby.

"I almost didn’t get there," Marmont said.

"I was driving the car into gutters. Hitting things on the way and I almost crashed three times. It was just anger. I just don’t now why my baby was taken from me. Why has this happened? I will never know."

Marmont’s team and rivals were shocked when he walked into Canberra Stadium. They all knew what had happened. They all knew his pain.

Lila spent most of her life in hospital as her organs gave up.

Marmont abandoned training last week when Lila was rushed to hospital to have a feeding tube inserted in her stomach. He spent the last week by his daughter’s side.

"I was told not to ride and it was just a last minute decision," he said. "I did it for her and I did if for those people who have given me such incredible support."

So with a broken heart, Marmont took to the saddle of his bike and lined up against some of the best motocross riders in the world.

He cried as he roared off the line.

Sobbed as he negotiated the compacted dirt mounds. He wondered how he would get through the night with the pain consuming every inch of his body.

"It was tough," Marmont said. "I couldn’t control my emotions."

But in one of those unexplainable moments, Marmont found his angel. He found his baby as he flew through the Canberra air on his Yamaha.

"I have never ridden like that before," Marmont said.

"I felt her as I raced. She was there with me, on my bike as I raced.

"She was there on my handlebars. It was her that was riding the bike.

"It was just surreal, she won the race for me. I can’t explain it but she was with me and she will always be with me."

Marmont will have to be brave today. In a tiny wooden coffin, he will lay his Lila to rest.

But with his wife Abby by his side, he will not be saying goodbye.

"No, she will be with me for the rest of my life," he said.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26323057-421,00.html