Between the Motos: Nate Adams
Freestyle motocross may be constantly changing and evolving but one thing remains the same: Nate Adams is the man to beat. At last weekend’s Dew Tour opener in Baltimore, the Monster Energy/Thor MX/Target/Dragon-backed Yamaha factory rider proved that he is still on top of his game as he walked away with the gold medal. I checked in with Nate this week after his win.
Round 1 of the Dew Tour was won by Nate Adams
Racer X: Congrats on the win, Nate!
Nate Adams: Thank you, David.
It’s really weird when you call me David. Tell us how it went. This was your first contest in a while, wasn’t it?
Yeah, it was. I’ve just been doing a lot of touring. I spent a month in New Zealand and two months in Australia. When I came back I only had, like, a week to prepare for the Dew Tour so it was a big relief to know that I still have what it takes to win. There have been a lot of rumors going around about guys doing new tricks or whatever and it’s good to know I can still beat ‘em.
It’s like going to a club and pulling out the hot moves like the sprinkler and the Roger Rabbit, right?
Right, it’s a good feeling to pull out the old moves.
Did you have any new tricks there?
I did a cliff-hanger flip and a nac/360/superman flip and all the usual stuff.
Wait, you did a nac-nac/360/superman backflip?
Yeah.
You’re an idiot.
Thanks [laughs].
Are you signed up for the whole series again?
Yeah, I’ve got four more.
How was the course this year?
It was really basic this year. It was really hard pack with loose dirt and rocks on top so it was really slick. But, I liked it. I thought it was good.
Last year they tried some new obstacles.
Yeah, they had a step-down and some different things. This course was just all the usual jumps. I was expecting to show up and see some different things again because they went all-out last year for the opener but it was pretty standard.
Nate is the old guy in the sport of FMX
Some of the old names are disappearing from the results. Is the sport filling with young kids now?
Yeah, there are some original guys still there, but a few of them are retiring and there’s new kids coming in.
But you are still whooping on them. You’re like the Mike LaRocco of freestyle.
Just call me “The Rocket.” [laughs] There’s definitely a new group of guys coming into it and it makes me the old guy in the sport.
How is the sport of freestyle doing? Still growing?
It’s doing really well. We still pull big crowds, especially in Australia and Europe. We have huge crowds there. They are really hungry for freestyle over there.
Why is it so big in Australia? Do shrimp and backflips go together well, or what?
I think they just don’t see as much of it as we do here. When they do see it they just have local guys and they don’t see the top guys. So, when they have a chance to see it they go. They sell out the places and get rowdy.
And they get drunk, right?
Yeah, mostly intoxicated. The fans, not the riders.
You still have a girlfriend down there?
No, we had a mutual split.
Figured it wouldn’t work living on two different continents and all?
Yeah, there is just too many gallons of water between us.
Adams will be a contender for gold at the 2007 X Games
What else do you have going?
I was supposed to go to Russia for an X Fighters but they cancelled it. I was supposed to leave today, actually. So now I am going to stay home. I’m bummed I didn’t get to go to Russia but it’s nice to hang on the couch. Then I have the Cleveland Dew Tour, Spain X Fighters and then X Games all back-to-back. That will be a tough stretch.
That’s rough going to Europe right before X Games.
Yeah, but what do you do? I gotta pay the mortgage.
I know you are just scraping by over there. I heard you rebuilt your course.
Yeah, we’re still working on it. Bryan McGavran is over here working the dozer and we’re putting in sprinklers on a timer and rebuilding everything. It’s going to be awesome. It’s really getting stepped up a notch.
Wow. You going to put in laser lights and some grandstands?
No, none of that. The sprinklers will be sweet, though. It’s fun to ride something new and I’m going to be riding a lot this summer.
Who is your main competition this summer?
I feel like if I’m on my game I should be able to win. But I’ve got my eye on Mike Mason, Adams Jones, Mat Shubring, Dani Torres and Mat Rebeaud.