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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1485886
edge of the track and the concrete wall not far behind that, and Nickerson's crash bought out the red flag. He was later diagnosed with broken ribs, a fractured T9 vertebra and a concussion. Mental note: Don't crash at Quebec Corner. The Aprilia had been getting progressively better over the two days of competition but the biggest issue we faced was the back end pump- ing too much under acceleration, which really hurt us onto the back straight. For race three, we threw the hardest rear spring we had at the shock (which was still too soft) and cranked up compression and rebound. It was a band-aid solution, but it seemed to do the trick, as at the start of race three, the Aprilia and I were flying. Off the start, I got up to seventh straight away, then sixth. The top two of Alex Dumas and 2022 CBSK Champion Ben Young were gone in front, but third to seventh was all tightly packed together. The Aprilia was finally getting onto the back straight, and I could stay in the slipstream of the guys in front. Things were really looking up. Then they were looking down, then up, then down, and finally, black. Coming into Quebec Corner, I set up Su- zuki's Trevor Daley in much the same fashion as I had on several guys that weekend by run- ning the wide line out of turn two, to set up the inside for Quebec Corner. The next thing I remember was waking up in the back of the ambulance, strapped down from head to toe after being knocked out for about three minutes. Turns out I totally messed up my move on Daley, lost the front of the Aprilia under brakes from fourth gear and slammed through the first lot of haybales and finally into the tire wall. It was a fast one, my head taking a proper Mike Tyson hit which meant I rag-dolled until a stop. Although my head was sore and memory was foggy for about two weeks after the crash, one thing that was remarkable was I wasn't even stiff from my neck to my toes. Completely fine. VOLUME 59 ISSUE 48 NOVEMBER 29, 2022 P73 McCormick would be a good example. He wanted to make money. He wasn't going to ride for free, and there just was nothing for him. But we've always produced really good racers. If you look in the world, we had Miguel Duhamel, Steve Crevier, Pas- cal Picotte, myself in the U.S. I think all the ice riding and flat tracking and all that up here helps us. It's a different culture, as well. That winter scene is pretty cool. Yeah. I build all the ice bikes. We plow all the ice tracks with this thing (side by side). You'd love it! I keep bugging Josh Hayes to come up here. He's like, "No way, man. It's too cold." I'm like, "Get your butt up here!" It literally is some of the most fun you can have. I build these really cool road courses. You do six-hour enduros and stuff, don't you? Yeah. We have a 24-hour way up in the Arctic. And then Quebec has always been a huge ice riding area. It's super fun. Do you find it's odd more top Americans don't just come here and do a race for fun? Yeah, I think they don't realize how cool this track [Mosport] is. Hayes came up here and raced in '98. And back in the day, Tom Kip was a factory rider who raced here. He came up here and they would recruit because they had the budget. But I'm sur- prised more Americans don't come to this race because it's a cool track. The fans are great. The tracks aren't very safe, but that seems to be a North American thing, too. Hopefully we'll see it turn around. It's tough for a Cana- dian, too. Brett McCormick has seen this. Americans get hired because it's a big mar- ket. For me, I had lots of offers at to go to World Superbike back in the day. But I had to bring money to the table. The Europeans bring stuff to the table. So, it's an easier transition for them. Whereas a Canadian, they're not bringing any sales to the table even if they have good skill. CN Szoke (left) with a young Ben Young.