Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128643
lIans 'Triple Crown Freestyle Champion 'Tommv Clowers Q A What are your ot he r hobbies? Go lfin g , BMX , su rfi ng , snowboardi ng , p retty much any ac ti ve sport. What has been your worst irtiury? T he worst is an y surg ery wh er e yo u have to have p ins put in . I have two sc rews in m y ank le fro m br eak in g it, a to rn rot ator cuff with two sc rews in m y shou lder, and I bro ke m y w ris t and I ha ve th re ~ pi ns in that. T hose are all about eq ual. l7IJe WOrst is any surgery where you halle to halle pins put in• • halle two screws in mvanlde from breaking it" a tom rotator cuR with two screws in mv shoulderl and' broke mv wrist and' halle three pins in that. 11 B y JOEY CA SEy/PRACTICE T RA CK M A GA ZIN E PHOTOS BY M A RK KARIYA o m m y "Tomcat " Cl owers has had q uite a year in th e sport of Freest yl e Motocro ss. Ba ck in th e Spring , the Gravi t y Gam es wa s th e first major co ntest of the 200 0 season fo r th is you ng sp ort , and Clower s' fourth -pla ce fi nis h only awarded him with a fracti on of th e ca sh tha t co nte st w inn er B ri an Deegan took hom e. T he 2 8 -ye ar-old from Ram on a, Californ ia , bounc ed back at the sum mer X -Ga mes, winning th at event's in augural st ep -up co m peti tio n and pla cing second in freestyl e to ea rn overall hono rs. And most recently, Clowers clinched the Vans Tr ip l e Crown o f FMX , w inning three o f the five rounds along the way . Befor e fr e estyl e , Clow ers wa s a profess ional motocross rac er who made Supercross mains and outdoor motos, but he was never really a threat to win . The adv ent of freestyle has been good to Clowers, however, as he's near the top of a sma ll num ber of riders m aking good m on ey fro m the spo rt . He has taken the Hart Attack trick to a new level by putting his feet directly over his head and looki ng backwa rd at th e rear fend er, basicall y doi ng a seat-grab hand stand whil e 30 or m ore feet off the gro und. Clo wers has also developed a namesak e trick called the Cat Nac , in which he ste ps off the side of the motorcycle · nac -na c style - on ly t o take his other foot off th e peg and sw ing his legs to ward th e front end of the motorcycle. A one -handed seat grab, while stretchi ng his other three lim bs beh ind th e m ot orcycl e, is ano ther trick th at Clowers m ak es lo ok easy . We ca ug ht up with him at the end of this freestyle season. How did you get started riding motorcycles? T Q I started rid ing BMX when I was six . M y dad and I wen t out ridin g and m et Mike Cr aig and his dad. They took me motorcycle rid ing, and then m y dad got a YZ60 for me. A 12 D EC EM BER 1 3 , 2 000 ' cue I e What are your strengths and weaknesses? I am co ns is te nt, I d o b ig t ric ks and ex te n d th em wa y o ut. My weakne sse s ar e I'm short for some of the tricks I want to do . I can 't do some of th e bar tricks th at I wa nt to do , bec au se m y arms are too sho rt to pu sh m y body ba ck to all ow ro om f o r m y legs to ge t th rough. When did yo u know you cou ld be good eno ugh to m ake money riding y our bike? I had a g re a t amat eur c areer in rac ing , winning 14 am at eur titl es . I to o k that momentum into my pro career, b ut now I 'm doi ng b ett e r in freesty le. Wha t would you do f or w ork make a living on your bike? I have no idea. To mmy "To mc at" Clowers, in no va t o r of the Catwalk and Cat-nac, has risen from Amat eur National Championships, then Supercross obscurity, to become one of Freestyle Motocross' elite. r: if y ou co ul d n' t How long do you think you will be competitive in fre estyl e? I don 't kno w. I take it as it goes. It's all abou t staying healthy and ha vin g fun. If yo u can do tha t , yo u can do it as long as yo u want. Where i s your favorite place to ride? Q A Q Probably O cotillo Well s. Do you have any idol s? I never rea lly had idols. I'm fr iends w ith all the top g uy s; I grew up w ith th em . It's m ore of a respect and a fri endship . A neVIl's What has been your favorite contest so far? Defi nit el y this year's X -Ga mes . Do you prefer di rt or steel ramps? It depends o n how the j ump is built. I like th em both. Are there any new tricks you ' re working on? l' m always work in g on stuff, and I still don 't do all th e tri ck s. It's hard to do stuff right now that is a new tri ck . Var iation s, usin g existing tricks and linking th em t og eth er is wh at I'm working o n . Someon e else ma y co me out with a new tric k , then I'll see it and st art doin g it . Are you workin g on a backflip? A Q lt' s not something yo u c an wo rk o n - you 've got to just do it . It's in m y m ind; I' m going to get it on my BMX bike first, th ough . A