Cole Thompson Interview
January 25, 2024
Hey Cole! I’m actually Canadian too; from Abbotsford. Grew up racing Chilliwack arenacross… you ever race there?
I raced Abbotsford for the Triple Crown! I always wanted to race Chilliwack but never made it out there.How Come?
I think the years I was supposed to do it I had other races at that same timeframe and then it always just seemed to be one of those deals where I couldn't get enough funding to go out there and stay out there and stuff. So maybe down the road, who knows!Do you foresee a future in Canada for your career?
To come back to Canada? Yeah, you never know. I came back, did a race last year and I didn't think I'd race at all last year in Canada, but, whatever opportunity knocks, you gotta accept it. So hopefully Canada gets some more support and is able to get a couple more riders on their teams, ‘cause right now they just have like one guy per team sort of thing on each bike and it makes it really tough for me 'cause obviously I’m an indoor guy and I prefer doing indoors only, but yeah, you never know where life leads you.Well I think it's super cool that you're down here racing Supercross! I always liked growing up watching Kyle Beaton and Darcy Lange have success down here. It was so fun to have a Canadian to cheer for… I really wish more Canadians did that. Can you talk more about your transition to coming down to the US and racing?
I think for me it was just at an earlier age I started racing in the US when I was an amateur. And from that point forward, we always knew that I was gonna make my pro debut in Supercross. Through the amateur ranks, you kind of gear your way, or put your direction/focus into getting better at Supercross over the years. So I started riding Supercross in my backyard when I was about 13, 14 years old. And I was no different than anybody. I didn't know how to jump anything or time stuff very well. But over the years I just practiced and had fun with it and I think my style suits it well: a little bit more on the smoother side and that's helpful for Supercross timing and everything like that. So, around the time I was 18, I was ready to go pro and made my pro debut in Dallas on the East coast; just as a private that year and kind of let it take me from there!Talk about your situation with the team and how you got this opportunity. You took a break, it seemed like you weren't gonna come back to Supercross, at least from an outside perspective. Were you done riding Supercross and then found this? What was going on in your career at that point?
Yeah, pretty much I'd done everything I wanted to as far as a racer. I made a good living up in Canada for a lot of years, and was very thankful for the KTM support I received for nine years up in Canada; that really wasn't motivating me to get back to racing down here. The level had gone up and up and up since I had left in 2017, I believe that was last year that I raced Supercross and then focused on Canada full-time. So 2022 comes around and it just kind of sparked an idea that I thought I would just go have fun with it, document it as much as I could on social media and kind of just bring the struggles of being a privateer, doing it on your own, and bring it to light in some way. I had a lot of people rally behind me and I had a lot of fun racing. I raced five Supercrosses that year and I was top 10 in points. I had a really good first half of the season before I got hurt; a good run going. So these guys at Solitaire hit me up to come and do a full-time gig. And I said, why not? You know, as old as I am, I still feel like I have a couple more good years in me and they obviously believe that I can keep doing the job. So we came back down last year, this year, and the goal is obviously to continue to improve. The opportunity only comes so many times. So for me, the days are limited, but making sure every day counts.Position wise, where do you feel like you belong?
A lot of people have expectations: top five this or that. I feel like I belong in top 10 realistically. There's a lot of good riders on the coast, both coasts for that matter, but the guys on this coast in particular have a lot of experience. So you're not dealing with rookies, you're dealing with guys that have been doing it for two or three seasons and that sometimes can be a little bit trickier because you're not dealing with the inconsistency as much. The guys are showing up every weekend and performing. So if I can be inside the top 10, I'm putting myself among names that are really, really good in the sport.
