Photos by: Hoppenworld
Every year, a rider or two pops out from under the radar in the 250SX Regional Championships in Monster Energy Supercross and surprises us all with their speed and results. In the 2016 Western Regional 250SX Championship, that guy is CycleTrader/Yamaha’s Colt Nichols. During his rookie season in 2015, Colt contested the Eastern Regional 250SX Championship, even finishing as high as sixth at the Detroit Supercross, but nothing jumped out at me saying, this is the start of something big. This year, though, that’s all changed. There is definitely something special about the #69.
Colt had some injuries during the 2015 season, and over the off season, he got healthy, was signed by the very solid CycleTrader/Yamaha team and somewhere in there found some raw speed and surprisingly solid consistency. Over the first four rounds, Colt’s qualifying finishes have progressively gotten better with the Oklahoman qualifying 8th at A1, 7th at San Diego 1, 6th at A2 and continuing that trend by qualifying in 5th at the 2016 Oakland SX. As for his main event results, they haven’t followed the same trend, but with a 7-5-8 main event scorecard heading into round four, he has shown, himself most importantly, that he can consistently run near the top five.
When the gate dropped on the 2016 Oakland SX main event, Colt rounded the first turn with his normal bad start—his average position on lap one is 9th in 2016—but he quickly went to work on improving on his career-best 5th from San Diego. By the end, the sophomore professional used the third fastest single lap and consistency to cross the line in second after the fifteen-lap main event. Colt did receive a few gifts during that fifteen laps, but gifts are a give and take thing in Supercross that will never discount a podium result.
It was a huge day for the CycleTrader/Yamaha team, Colt and everyone that helped him achieve this milestone in his career. After it had all sunk in, we caught up with Colt to talk about his night.
Colt, you scored your first-ever 250SX main event podium tonight? How are you feeling?
Dude, I’m blown away. It’s such an awesome feeling to get that monkey off my back, if you will. We’ve been working so hard. To see it come through for me like that tonight was a very gratifying feeling.
You’ve been one of the biggest surprises of the year for a lot of fans and even industry folks. Is it safe to say that you’re not one of the people that’s surprised by what you’ve been able to do so far this year?
Yeah, I think so, honestly. If I had to say anyone else, it would be Robbie Reynard. That dude’s seen me ride so many times. For me, I actually came into this season prepared. I’m on a really good bike, a really good team and I got to put in a lot of laps during the off season. I felt really physically fit—Robbie’s been helping me in that department—and once I got to California, I started working with Charles Dao. He was a really, really big asset to the program and helped take it to the next level. I feel like I’ve been riding really well, and I know I’ve been surprising a lot of people, but for me, I feel like I’m just riding to my capabilities. As long as I keep doing that and having a good time, I’m really just enjoying the process. We’re going to just keep enjoying it and keep having fun.
I’ve talked to a lot of riders after they get their first podium, and there’s always that moment when it sinks in that they’ve done it. When did that happen for you tonight?
I passed Jordon Smith, then I’d seen that Christian Craig had fell. Right after that, I started to reel in Alex Martin a little bit, and once he crashed, a lap after that I looked at the leaderboard to see how many laps we had left and it said we had eleven laps and I happened to see the big #69 was in third place. I was like, “No way, I’m going to podium!” Then I say that Coop’s [Cooper Webb] bike had problems and I was like, “I’m in second place. This is unreal.” Honestly, after that were the worst few laps I’ve ever rode. (laughs) I rode so bad, I made little mistakes, I got tight, but I guess that’s expected for the first time. Now that we got that out of the way, I’m looking forward to next weekend to keep the ball rolling. My confidence is starting to build to I think where it needs to be, and everything is coming together for me.
Since you’ve now gotten your first podium out of the way, how far away is that first win?
Honestly, I think it’s close. I’m really happy about where we are bike-wise, physically, and honestly I just need to be more near the front on the start. That start was horrible, and I don’t even know where I was. On the second straightaway, it seemed like there were a million people in front of me.
Yeah, I think I had you around twelfth around the first turn, and you were ninth the first time you guys crossed the line.
Yeah, I was twelfth or something. I just have to get a little bit better starts, and once I start up there with those guys and keep on them for the first six laps, I think that’s the key.
Everyone got a little gift from Cooper today when he stalled while leading, but you’re now only thirteen points out of the lead. Does that change anything for you, or is Robbie going to preach, “Tomorrow’s just another day”?
Yep, just get some sleep tonight, do a little recovery road bike ride tomorrow and then it’s back to work on Monday. It’s all just part of the process, and this is just a stepping stone in the right direction for us, definitely not the ceiling for us. I think there’s a lot more to go, but I want to keep riding to my potential and having fun. If I do that, I’ll be happy.
I know you’re originally from Oklahoma, but where are you living while racing the 250SX Western Regional Championship?
I’m actually living with Justin Bogle. He’s a really good friend of mine, and we’ve been friends since we were little guys. He’s helping me out a lot and letting me stay at his house. I still train with Robbie and Charles Dao. I’ve been going to iCON Gym, and that dude’s been helping me out a lot. They’re both—Robbie Reynard and Charles Dao—huge assets to my program. Those guys have really helped me mentally get to the next level, and I’m just blessed to have them.
I don’t know what’s in the water lately in Oklahoma, but you have to believe that Robbie is a big part of the reason there’s so much talent coming out of there lately.
Definitely! Dude, Robbie has done a phenomenal job with me, and there’s no way I would be anywhere near where I am now if it wasn’t for him. He’s been there through every struggle, every success I’ve ever had, and he’s just pushed me and keeps going. We work really well together, and I’m so blessed to have a guy like that. Him and his fiancé Ashley have been behind me since day one. They’ve been helping a lot of kids out for a long time, and I’m glad I could almost repay them with getting a podium and succeeding for myself. There’s also some more good kids coming out of the Oklahoma water, for sure.
Nice to finally meet you, congrats on the podium tonight and good luck next weekend in Phoenix.
Thank you
