By Billy Rainford

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope you all made it through the last couple weeks. Here in my hometown of London, Ontario, we had some crazy weather. We were basically stuck in the house for 3 days as the freezing rain and then snow fell constantly. We’ve had more than 5 snowstorms already this fall/winter season, and that’s not normal. In fact, I’ll need to get out and shovel the driveway yet again. Not enough to fire up the snowblower, but enough that it needs to be done.

Did you watch Round 3 of the AMA FIM Arenacross Championship on Saturday? I was glued to the Ryde TV app for this one! Cole Thompson has sort of reinvented himself and is making headlines. He’s always been a guy who would push the envelope when racing indoors, but I don’t think he was ever billed as the actual villain. And that’s what they’re trying to paste him as in this series.

I’m sure you all remember his battles with Vince Friese back in the 2014 Supercross season? They found each other every singe race. This year, it’s Cole and Ryan Breece.

When I saw Ryan at the Vancouver round of the World Supercross Championship, I asked him if we were going to see him throwing his weight and elbows around. He smiled as if to say he was going to do what he needed to do to get some good results. Well, whether he wants to or not, he’s being forced to do it so far in AX and it’s fun to watch.

Cole seems to be embracing this WWE role that’s been placed on him. His interviews have been very entertaining, to say the least. Here’s the post-race press conference from this past weekend in Loveland, Colorado:

And here are the highlights:

What a night in Colorado!

AX Pro Series Points

Pos	Racer	10/11/25	12/20/25	01/03/26	Total
1st#200	RYAN BREECEATHOL, ID	31 pts1st	29 pts2nd	28 pts4th	88
2nd#16	COLE THOMPSON BRIGDEN, ON	30 pts2nd	28 pts4th	28 pts3rd	86
3rd#14	ROBBIE WAGEMAN NEWHALL, CA	28 pts3rd	28 pts3rd	29 pts1st	85
4th#98	AUSTIN POLITELLI MURRIETA, CA	16 pts9th	30 pts1st	28 pts2nd	74
5th#2	JEREMY FAPPANISCOTTSDALE, AZ	24 pts5th	12 pts11th	21 pts7th	57
6th#636	LUKE KALAITZIAN SUN VALLEY, CA	23 pts6th	18 pts7th	15 pts9th	56
7th#581	KYLE BITTERMAN PELZER, SC		25 pts5th	27 pts5th	52
8th#73	STEVE MAGES SARDINIA, OH		12 pts12th	21 pts6th	33
9th#316	EVAN STICE CARMEN, ID	13 pts10th	19 pts6th		32
10th#461	HAYDEN ROBINSON MENIFEE, CA	17 pts7th	14 pts8th		31

As we head to Toronto this coming weekend for a double-header, here’s some information you’ll need:

AMA FIM Arenacross | Toronto Round 4 and 5 Information

I’m no longer able to run, so I’ve been toying with the idea trying to do some cross-country skiing during the winter and see if my knee will allow it. My friend, Pete, worked at a Bike/Ski shop a bunch of years ago and still has a set that he no longer uses. We also got an old pair from the couple across the street who went to a retirement home. Boom, 2 sets of skis for Em and me. We had to go on FB Marketplace to find a pair of cheap, old boots for Em to use, but we managed to find some relics.

We headed out to a nearby golf course last night and brought Olive the AussieDoodle along with us. She absolutely loved it. I can’t say either of us fell in love with it, but it might be something my knee can handle so we’ll give it another try. We didn’t got hard or long enough to call it much of a “workout,” but it was a good start. And yes, it will only happen under the cover of darkness. Haha.

The power cord for my laptop appears to not be working. I’m getting dangerously low on power so I’m going to have to end this here and head over to the mall to see what’s up. Tough start to the year!

I can’t wait to get back trackside this weekend for some racing! There’s also an amateur schedule, so I hope we see lots of our younger riders giving it a try.