By: Kyle Carruthers

Welcome to the Weekly Roost for the third time now. I hope everyone is enjoying the column so far, and thanks again for tuning in. It’s been a slow week here in Canadian motocross, but it seems like the weeks are flying. It felt like just yesterday I was here in this exact spot writing this column last week, and once again, before I know it, it’s time for the third installment!  What do you know, eh!

I for one am glad the time is flying by. The sooner this snow is gone the sooner we’ll be out on bikes as the Canadian race season kicks off. Don’t get me wrong, I love winter and love snowmobiling, snowboarding and all that fun stuff, but with the horrible winters we have been having here in Ontario I’m ready to get my track tilled up and invite my buddies over to start spinning some laps!

It was another interesting race last weekend in Anaheim. Although Dungey won again, Stewart and Hill weren’t making it easy on him. Personally, I’m happy that this is an exchanging of the torch, and these young guys are stepping it up. It’s exactly what this sport needs right now. It needs to be more random and wild. I want to see more intense racing.

I am loving the randomness of the SX class so far. I just need some more aggression out there.

One thing I’m sick of is riders saying they were aiming for a top five or a podium when they settle for second. I want supercross and motocross to get back to the old school days where every rider was on that line to win and didn’t give a crap about who was lined up beside them. If another rider left the door open and gave them a chance to run them high or take them out to get that win, they were more than happy to run a guy high over the bales. Maybe that’s why there was more winners back in the day. Everyone was hungry and looking to win. The manufacturers and teams expected them to win, and that is why they were hired. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think you should be cleaning a guy out every time you have to pass, but if there is a million dollar bonus on the line and a championship plate, would you not hit your competitor? All I know is that if I was a team manager the last thing I would want to hear is my rider saying he just wants a top ten. So what has changed over the years? Is it because of the fans today and booing at the stadiums? Are more riders worried about their reputations because of all the media and the online forums where fans can acutely discuss the race instead of reading about it in a magazine a month later? What if Hill decided to take out Dungey for the win and started to shake up the points? We have seen riders such as J-law get in Dungey’s head before with moves like that. Maybe all it will take to beat Dungey is to throw his mental game off and take that confidence away from him?

I want to see things like this in SX. J Mags knows how to be aggressive.

What do you think? Should riders start being more aggressive to get that first win? Drop me a note at kyle@mxpmag.com

That leads us in to my weekly ritual now “The Roosters Call”! Truth is, I suck at predicting races! I guess that’s why it’s fun because it’s just a prediction, and I’m sure that the one time I’m right I’m going to be jumping up and down in front of my TV then write about it! Here it goes then! - Stewart will win this weekend in San Francisco. He’s over getting beat by these young guys, and with Reed out of the championship it’s his to lose. Windham will get second after grabbing the holeshot, and Dungey will battle with bike problems and just make it to the podium. As far as the little bike class goes, Will Hahn will grab his first win and Weimer will take second followed by Broc Tickle. Feel free to send me an email and call me out on any of my predictions before or after the race!

Stewart will win the SX class, and Will Hahn will take his first win in Lites. That's what my crystal ball is telling me.

I thought I’d do a little digging around this week and get some updates on some riders that we are used to seeing up here in Canada starting with Canada’s amateur sensation Cole Thompson. He’s likely to be the next Canadian behind Dean Wilson to land a factory ride down south. Cole has been busy training in Florida at County Line. Cole sent along these words to me yesterday.

"Hey Kyle,

I'm just down here in Florida putting in laps at County Line MX. The track has been amazing and I've been able to ride with a couple other Canadian boys: Shane Colic, and PJ Stratton. I've also been training four times a week, just trying to be in tip top shape for the Texas Nationals coming up in March. I was able to hit up a Winter Am race this past weekend at Lake City, which went pretty good. I got the win in the Schoolboy class, so i was stoked on that. I plan on hitting another one at Gatorback the first week of February; I'm looking forward to that!

Thanks for your interest in my racing. Let me know if you ever need any info. Be glad to keep you up to date on my racing."

I like this kid. He is a future Canadian star, and may be in the US as well.

Photo Cred: Randy Wiebe

I met Cole a few years ago when I was down at County Line for the first time. Even though he is a lot older now, even back then he was one of the most well spoken and professional kids I have ever met. This kid is great on the podium and is a sponsor’s dream. Keep up the good work Cole and thanks for the update!

2008 MX2 champion, Eric Nye, also passed on an email to me about what’s new with him. It turns out that your former champ has been crazy busy lately, including going to college! He also reports that his injury to his shoulder is all healed up, and he started riding again at the begining of January. He is just waiting for his practice bike from KTM to show up any time now then he'll really start preparing for the Canadian nationals and get his fitness back up to once again contest for the number one plate. Even though he has a full plate, Eric is managing the time well and is really looking forward to coming back up to Canada this summer to race!

Eric Nye may just become the "Science Guy".

Thanks for passing on the update Eric. On another note, I personally think going to college is a smart move by Eric, and most riders should follow his example. When he feels his racing career is over and it’s time to move on, he'll be able to put himself in a good postion and open up another world of opportunity for his future! We all know we can't race forever, especially at the Pro level.

That’s all I have for this week! Any questions or comments hit me at kyle@mxpmag.com. Till next time.

Kyle Carruthers