MXP Chatter With Cole Thompson Presented By Motovan

It’s been a while since we’ve had the opportunity to chat with Cole Thompson as he’s been taking a well-deserved hiatus from racing this summer. After lining up at Round 4 and 5 of the Triple Crown Series Cole took a break and for the first time in almost a decade, he had a summer to do whatever he wanted. Well, this past weekend at the Gopher Dunes SX Cole’s vacation was over as he was on the starting line at the opening round of the Triple Crown Series SXTour at Gopher Dunes. Cole is a true SX specialist and it was great to see him back in his natural habitat. We caught up with him yesterday afternoon as he was enjoying a day off from riding.

MXP: Hey Cole, what are you up to on this holiday Monday?

CT: Hey Palms! Not too much really, it’s pretty quiet here today.

It was great to see you back on the racetrack this past weekend at Gopher Dunes. How did it feel to race a SX again?

It was fun to get back out there and race on a SX track. I thought the crew did a good job with the track on Saturday. It was a little more technical than last year but I also thought the flow was better. The track also seemed bigger than last year which was good. I’m glad they brought some lights so we could have a night race, that was cool. Yeah, it’s been a while since I raced a SX so it was good.

Also, your results were pretty solid so I’m sure that added to the enjoyment?

For sure, anytime you can get some wins it feels good. There wasn’t many top riders there which was a bit of surprise, but Harrison was going fast and in the 250 main event he got a little too far ahead in the opening laps and I couldn’t reel him back in. The other two main events were good and I felt good on the 450 as it had my SX suspension on it from earlier this year. My 250 was basically stock so it was a little tough going back and forth between bikes.

I was surprised that you rode the 450 since most riders just rode their 250’s all night long. But you did look good on the 450 and it appeared like you were having a little more fun on the bigger bike?

I was actually! I really like the Yamaha 450 and with my good suspension on it, I was able to ride it a little more like I wanted to. Also, I was able to use the extra power on the starts as well as in a few of the rhythm sections. I’ve always enjoyed a 450 indoors as they give you options. But for the next round in Sarnia, I’ll probably just race my 250 as that track will be much tighter. We’ll see how it goes.

You mentioned earlier about finding it strange that more pro riders didn’t show up on Saturday. Why do you think that happened?

Good question! I don’t understand why more riders weren’t there as there was money to be made and this race was part of the Triple Crown Series. I mean, I can fully understand why some of the top riders weren’t there as SX isn’t really their thing but it’s strange that there were a few riders who don’t live far from Gopher Dunes and want to race SX in the USA, but they don’t show up to a Canadian SX? I don’t know, I thought there would be more riders there, and for those who didn’t show they missed a good event.

I suppose there are two sides to it and I understand why some riders shy away from SX or some riders shift their priorities to preparing for other races. However, I was surprised that more riders weren’t there on Saturday night. I’m obviously quite a bit older than you but I remember through the 1990s and even the 2000s pretty much every pro rider would race the Montreal SX each September, regardless of their suspension or preparation.

I agree, Montreal was a well-attended event for a lot of years and I know I always had fun racing it as did my brothers. I’ve always loved riding and racing SX as I used to do a lot as a kid, so maybe you just have to start at it early and develop a comfort level. I know it always has been but moving forward SX is getting bigger and bigger in the USA, even at the amateur level. So as a young rider you need to figure it out.

Would that be your basic advice to our younger riders? Just keep practicing SX as much as you can.

For sure! I think you practice SX as much as you can and it doesn’t take much to do it. You don’t need a full SX track to practice on. All you need are some jumps and tight corners and go work on turning and jumping. Also, there are a lot of smaller indoor races during the winter in the USA that aren’t that far. So yeah, practice riding SX and if you can go and race a little during the winter. That is what I used to do and I’m sure you did it as well.

For sure, that is great advice for our young riders. I think that is where our western riders have a big advantage as they have the Future West SX Series every winter and it’s very well attended by riders of all ages. Okay, so we’re back into SX racing now. I think everyone wants to know if you’re planning on racing the 250SX West Series in January in Monster Energy SX?

Right now that is the plan as I had fun this year doing it and I’d love to do it again in 2023 with hopefully more support. We got a late start last year and really didn’t decide to race Anaheim until early December so it didn’t leave a lot of time to prepare. Also, I was on a new bike we didn’t have a lot of parts for it. So this year I’d love to do it again and head to California much earlier and properly prepare for the 250SX West Series.

Well, that is good news as it was great having you to cheer for every Saturday night in January. Going back to earlier this summer and the Walton and Gopher Dunes Nationals. Did you enjoy being back out on track racing a few nationals with no pressure or did it just reinforce how much you enjoy SX?

I think those two races just made me enjoy SX that much more. I still love racing but I don’t enjoy racing outdoors and eating roost for 30 minutes. I did it for a long time and I’m just over it. I have complete respect for our riders that are doing the outdoor series and battling every weekend in the heat and gnarly conditions, but I think I’ve moved on from that.

That’s understandable as racing outdoor pro nationals during the summer is brutally tough and you have to be all in both mentally and physically. Well Cole, congratulations on Saturday night and I guess we’ll see you in Sarnia in a few weeks?

For sure you will and thanks! It was fun to get back out racing on Saturday night and I’m happy I was able to come away with a couple of wins. Thanks for calling Palms!