Leah Clarke & Sylvain Brodeur

Leah Clarke is from Ottawa. She rides, she studies, she works and she helps organizing the CMRC Eastern rounds of the Canadian Women's Nationals with Sylvain Brodeur. I am just back from Ulverton where the womens' gate was full this Saturday. Let's see if hard work paid off with Leah Clarke herself.

GMX: The Canadian Women's Nationals just ended here in Ulverton this week end with a full gate of 43 female riders.

Can we say it was a huge success this year? Are you happy with your work?

LC: This year I was very happy with the amount of girls we had show up at each round. At each round the numbers of entries increased, with Gopher Dunes having 31, Sand Del Lee having 37, and Ulverton having a record number of entries at 43. I think it's incredible that this many girls from all over the East Coast and US heard about the series and decided to race!

GMX: Therefore, do you think that female motocross is expanding?

LC: Yes, I think Women's Motocross is slowly becoming more popular. It definitely is more popular in Quebec than Ontario, but hopefully time will even this out. It's great to see more young girls on little bikes learning how to race! Notably, at Walton this year a young girl, Fiona Koenig, won a 50cc 4-6 moto. This has never been done before in a class other than ladies class!

GMX: A prestigious US female rider, Jessica Patterson, came to race in Ulverton and gave some competition to Eve Brodeur and the girls. Where are the canadian female riders compared to US female riders?

LC: Jessica Patterson came to race Ulverton with the support of the Canadasmotorcycle/FXR team and Al Brown and she dominated the race with a 30+ second lead on the 2014 and 2015 East champion, Eve Brodeur, in both motos. Given that Jessica hasn't raced motocross in a while (she is competing in Offroad), this is a wake up call for Eve. I think it's great that she came to race and it will give Eve a push to want to improve her riding as well. Canadian female riders aren't at the same caliber as Pro US female riders such as Jessica yet, and that's mostly because we have a long snowy winter and it's not as convenient for us to go riding in the winter. However, it's fantastic that some fast US girls have come to race the Canadian Women's East series as this pushes the Canadian girls to improve their riding as well.

GMX: Some girls at the gate are really faster than the others, isn't it dangerous for them to have all levels on one gate?

LC: I know there's a great difference in skill level on the gate but I don't think it's dangerous. The girls at the front of the pack know what they are doing and know how to get around lappers safely. We usually also have a talk at riders meeting about the Blue flag and that you should always keep your line. Although sometimes girls may be lapped up to 3 times, this is the same as in the Pro class when a rider may also be lapped 3 times! Really it comes down to your confidence in your riding ability. If a girl can get around the track safely and confidently in practice, then she should be able to race. The faster riders will find a way around the track as safely as they can as well.

GMX: You are a rider yourself (with a 250F Yamaha), from Ottawa (your home track is SDL) and you go to school full time. How do you find the time to practise and improve your riding? Do you see often Dylan Wright at the track -who impressed us all this year with his style and speed-?

LC: In April I finished the 3rd year of my B.Sc. at uOttawa and I will be going back in September for another year. On top of working full time at Agriculture Canada and volunteering for the Women's East Series, I really haven't had much time to ride myself. I definitely thought I was going to ride more this summer, but time has gotten away on me and I need to go back to school soon. Dylan Wright is actually a close family friend of mine and is always at SDL. I've been riding with him at SDL since he was on 65cc's!

GMX: This is your adult life starting, the real life, as Kim Normandin says. It can be very difficult when motocross was a part of your identity when you were younger to redefine priorities ln your life. When you do not race and you see those 43 girls at the gate, how do you feel in your heart?

LC: I basically grew up at the track and it will always be part of who I am, but I'm at a transitional point in my life where I have to decide what I'm going to do career wise. When watching the girls race, it makes me remember going racing every weekend with my family when I was younger. Obviously I would love to be racing the WMX series, but someone has to do the running around during race day!

GMX: Not always at the gate, but you are very active in the Women's Nationals organization, this is so important and we thank you for your dedication. Can you tell us more about the work it takes and what kind of help you would need for next year?

LC: All winter, Sylvain and I are in contact with series sponsors to make sure that the Women's series will have podium awards and prizes. If the girls who are planning on racing the 2016 series have any sponsors in mind, it would really help if they let Sylvain Brodeur or myself know. I also try to get information from the girls who raced the series the previous year so that the rider profiles on the cdnwmx.com website can be updated. Next, I work on a sponsor press release and gather interviews of the top ten girls for press. It's so important to get these interviews and information from the girls up online promptly so that the series sponsors can see it and we can get more exposure in the motocross community. It would really be the greatest help if the girls give me their interviews back in a timely fashion!

GMX: Who is your favorite female rider? Why?

LC: My favorite female rider is Heidi Cooke. When I was about 14 I watched her race at Sand Del Lee and it inspired me to want to get into racing. She is also one of the most amicable, kindest people you will meet around the track.

GMX: What do you think of our little Eve Brodeur who had an amazing season 2015?

LC: Over the past two years I have become friends with the Brodeur family, and they are all-around great people. I think Eve will be a great role model for other girls getting into racing because she is humble and hard-working. With her title wins for the East Women's Series, ECAN, and Walton, I think that Eve has proven that she's the best Canadian female rider this year!

Leah Clarke soutient Sylvain Brodeur dans l'organisation du Nationals pour Femmes. Je trouvais ça important de poser quelques questions à Sylvain pour rendre hommage à sa présence dans la réussite de l'événement.

>> GMX: Sylvain, comment as-tu trouvé la saison au Nationals Femmes 2015? >> SB: J'en suis maintenant à ma quatrième saison à organiser la série canadienne Femmes dans l'Est. Les instigatrices de la série Ouest m'ont approché lorsqu'elles ont redémarré la série il y a 4 ans et j'y suis impliqué depuis, avec l'aide de différente filles de l'Est. Leah est d'une aide énorme depuis maintenant deux ans et elle prend de plus en plus de place, ce qui fait bien mon affaire puisque mon assiette est déjà trop chargée avec mon travail régulier et celui de gérer la logistique de l'équipe Team Brodeur (Simon Taillefer et Ève). En tant que co-organisateur de la série féminine, j'aime mieux faire le travail dans l'ombre et laisser la place aux filles qui voudraient s'impliquer. En résumé, je suis très satisfait de la série, c'était la meilleure cuvée depuis quatre ans selon moi. > >> GMX: On entend dire que le motocross est en baisse, mais on se souvient tous encore de la gate de 43 rideuses à Ulverton! Les femmes sont-elles à contre-courant de l'industrie? >> SB: Le motocross en baisse? Oui et non. La tendance est différente d'il y a 10, 15 ou 20 ans, mais il y a autant d'enthousiasme. Prend le Québec par exemple, regroupe les coureurs de toute les séries (CMRC, Challenge, SXQC, AMVA, SLSJ) et ajoute tous ceux qui passent leur weekend dans les parcs, tel que Xtown ou Deschambault (parcs qui n'existait pas il y a vingt ans) et on dépasse facilement les 1000 inscriptions par weekend. La réalité de 2015 est simplement différente d'il y a vingt ans. La série nationale féminine, quant à elle, réussit à regrouper des participantes de plusieurs séries et coins de l'Est du Canada, des filles d'aussi loin que le Manitoba et l'île du Prince-Édouard ont participé aux trois manches. Je ne suis donc pas surpris du taux de participation. La plupart de celles qui y participent veulent revenir. C'est un évènement différent et les filles sont gâtées, tant du côté des bourses Top 10, que des prix spéciaux sur les podiums (Holeshot Canada's Motorcycle, Hard charger Dunlop, Speed and style Oakley). Sans oublier la fameuse table de tirage de produits à la fin de la journée où toutes et chacune sont assurées de partir avec au moins un cadeau. >> GMX: Chercher des commanditaires est la plus grosse tâche dans l'organisation du Nationals Femmes. L'industrie supporte t'elle aussi facilement les femmes que les hommes? >> >> SB: Bien sûr que oui. Le fait que tous les véhicules promotionnels, les réseaux sociaux et magazines en ligne tels que Grindmx, MXP, DMX, MXandOffroad, Canadian Motoshow etc... sont de grands supporteurs de la série, l'industrie n'hésite pas à nous supporter. Beaucoup de support vient aussi de gens locaux tel que des parents de coureuses, des concessionnaires et compagnies tel que Kutvek Amerika. Tous ceux qui seraient intéressés à s'impliquer financièrement ou à investir du temps sont les bienvenus. Ils n'ont qu'à contacter Leah Clarke ou moi-même. >> GMX: Que manque t'il à nos canadiennes pour rivaliser avec les américaines sur leur propre sol? Endurance? Moyens? >> >> SB: C'est différent pour chacune, certains le font plus pour le plaisir, d'autres combinent plaisir et désir de performer sur une scène plus grande. Il y a de la place pour toutes dans ce sport. Pour compétitionner avec les américaines, si je regarde dans ma propre cour (avec Ève), l'âge, l'expérience et l'endurance sont les points à travailler. Nous sommes à travailler sur un plan pour courir de l'autre côté de la frontière l'an prochain, mais la tâche est énorme et nous avons besoin de support financier additionnel. La dernière fois qu'un canadien a participé à une série américaine complète, c'était JSR. L'opportunité est là pour nous et j'espère que les gens se rallieront à notre projet. Si vous voulez offrir votre support: Info@evebrodeur.com >>