smooth and as long as you didnt mess anything up it flowed nicely. I think I speak for everyone and say I was a little scared.
Do you think you got enough practice time to get used to the track?:
Tory: It's hard to say, in the amount of practice we got I was able to do everything on the track. But I think we needed some more time to have it really dialed in. The dutchies had the track absolutely wired. You could tell they had a lot of practice on it obviously. To be able to do the track better we needed more than 1.5 hours on it. A whole day would have been nice haha.
Did you manage to jump everything you wanted to jump during the first session?:
Tory: Yes I was able to do everything in practice, I was as nervous as anyone but once you get the balls to do it you just go for it and ride your bike like you know how.
How much harder is it for you to go from one at a time, to a full race of 8 people on the gate and then ride the track?:
Tory: It is difficult no matter how many people are on the track haha. I felt the time trials were harder to do a lap because you're by yourself and its so easy to make a mistake! I was glad to get 2 full TT laps in on Friday. In racing it was a little easier because you're not so focused on the track but focused on the racing and the competition.
The wind definitely didn’t help with the difficulty of the track. Would it have been a different race without the wind?
Tory: Yes no doubt. The wind made it so dangerous and the UCI didn't seem worried about it which was a little weird. The jumps are one thing, but with the amount of wind it made it so dangerous for us. I know everyone wants a good show, but our health and safety needs to be taken into consideration as well. This is our job and none of us want to get hurt! We want to be able to ride safe and hard and put on a good show for everyone watching. They need to come up with a solution when the conditions are that bad.
What’s your opinion on the box jump? What needs to be fixed with that thing for the 2012 Olympic track?
Tory: I personally don't think it's good for racing at all. It kills our momentum and I think it looks lame. I think it's awesome that the UCI is trying new stuff and I think they should continue to try new stuff. But stick to BMX and not freestyle. It doesn't look good on TV if 4 guys have to throw their bike up and run across it.
How often did you crash?:
Tory: I never actually crashed, just had to roll once in racing.
Did you wear extra safety gear at this Supercross World Cup?:
Tory: I actually didn't, which was stupid I think. I wear a leatt brace. I think everyone should, at the speed we are at now we should take safety first. I'm going to start wearing elbow pads now too.
39 casualties in Papendal. Do you think riders need to be selected instead of the fact that just any elite rider can buy s license and sign up for the World Cup?
Tory: Yeah and I also think that they need to somehow change the time trial format. IT isn't fair for the best riders in the world to prove they are fast enough to race a world cup. What happens if in the 1 lap of TT the best rider messes up and doesn't make it? We want all the best riders racing. I don't think just anyone should be able to show up and race.
Do you think this Papendal track would be a lot easier to ride in two years from now?
Tory: I don't think the track will ever be easy, but we will no doubt get better at it. But how much more can they push the limits on us? This track is so much harder than the last Olympics I wonder what 2016 will be like? BMX is already an exciting sport it doesn't need to get more dangerous to look good.
Ok, imagine you’re the track designer for the London Olympic track and you can make 3 changes to the track. What would they be?
1. Make the first straight wider (first straight is so sick)
2. No hip jumps or box jumps (it makes for slow single file racing)
3. Second straight, make it longer with another double or triple instead of the hip jumps
Any thanks to the sponsors or any people in particular?
Tory: Thanks for this interview! Thanks to my family, Girlfriend Merle, Redline, Tioga, Oakley, Shimano, Ogio, Fly, Answer, and the CCA