As I do almost every Monday, this week I was going through photo after photo from Saturday night’s Supercross. Just like last week, a couple of photos really jumped out at me as they demonstrated some very good riding techniques that we can all use on the track. I picked this Frank Hoppen photo because not only is it one of my favourite photos of 2016 so far but also because it’s the rider that every Canadian has been cheering for on Saturday nights, Brigden, Ontario’s Cole Thompson.
One of the first items that I noticed in this photo is something that most people never get to see, and that is just how big the obstacles are on a modern day SX track. As you can see in the background, the over/under tabletop is huge and sits about 25 feet above the Oakland floor. From the stands or on our televisions sets, we never get to see just how big the jumps are on a SX track. This is why if you ever get the chance to do a track walk, please take full advantage of it as it will more than likely make your jaw drop. Also, not only is the tabletop behind Cole very big but look at how steep the landing is. I have watched this race twice on television and the landing didn’t look all that steep. I suppose that this is one reason why not everyone can ride a SX track.
Anyway, in this section at Oakland that Cole is charging through, it consisted of a shorter than normal whoop section and then a left hand, 180 degree turn. It definitely wasn’t a complicated section for the World’s top SX riders, but it was a section that a rider could either easily gain time, or lose time, depending on how aggressive he wanted to be. The whoops on the Oakland track were about half the size as they were last weekend at A2, plus they were spaced much closer together. Because of this, the riders were having very little trouble getting through them. However, sometimes when the whoops are smaller and there’s a corner right after, sometimes riders struggle as they have to start thinking about the corner while still trying to get through the whoop section clean. Yes, even at this level riders can sometimes get ahead of themselves. In this section, the riders were landing from the step up and accelerating hard into the whoops, and then they had to quickly slow down to set up for the next corner. Even though this section looked fairly simple, there was a lot going on, for sure.
Here are Jake Weimer, Jason Anderson and Davi Millsaps all showing the same technique as Cole through this section in Oakland. Photo by Frank Hoppen
What I really like about this Frank Hoppen photo of Cole is his body position as he reaches the halfway point of the whoop section. From his head to his toes, Cole is set up perfectly to attack the whoops and then be in the right position to set up for the next corner. If you look at where Cole’s head is, you can see it’s nice and forward as his chin is just in front of the cross bar pad. This head position isn’t so much for the whoop section as it is for the following corner (more on that in a minute). Because of Cole’s forward head position, this forces his back to straighten and his elbows to come up. With his hips nicely hinged and his knees bent, he’s actually in a good ‘squat’ position. This is why doing squats in the gym is so important for motocross. I have always ridden with my elbows high so obviously I love where Cole’s elbows are in this photo. If these whoops were a little deeper than I think Cole would have to move his weight a little further back to lighten up his front end, but since these whoops aren’t that big, he can be as aggressive as he wants in them. Finally, look at where Cole’s right foot is. Even though he’s only a second away from having to use the rear brake, because he’s still in the whoop section, he’s riding on the balls of his feet. This foot position is so important in keeping the bike
light and straight as you blitz through whoops of any size. So, Cole’s head is forward, his arms and hips are hinged and ready to soak up anything the bike does, and he’s riding on the balls of his feet. The last thing I want to mention about the location of Cole’s head is that because it’s so forward, it puts his eyes forward too, which allows him to get the best view point possible to pick a line heading into the corner. Whenever I teach riding skills to someone I always talk about small movements on the bike and being as efficient as possible. As you can see by Cole’s body position in this photo, because he’s already so far forward, once he gets to the following corner, all he has to do is brake, sit down and power through the turn. This is what I mean by small movements and efficiency on a motorcycle.
Finally, here is Cole Seely showing a little of his BMX style as he blasts through this section. Photo by Frank Hoppen
Although I’ve broken down each part of Cole’s technique for this section, as we all know this all has to happen simultaneously and in a very short time. At the pro level, riders aren’t even thinking about this, they’re just doing it. This comes from, you guessed it, practice, practice and more practice. For most of who don’t race on tracks that would have this type of section on it., this technique is the same one any rider can use as they charge through a set of braking bumps, deep ruts or even sand whoops before a corner. So practice getting forward, being aggressive and making your bike go exactly where you want it to, just like Cole Thompson did in this section last weekend at the Oakland SX.