Frid’Eh Update #26 | Kaven Benoit | Brought to You by Dirt Care

Frid’Eh Update #26 | Kaven Benoit | Brought to You by Dirt Care

Week #26 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update belongs to Kaven Benoit and is brought to you by Dirt Care.

By Billy Rainford

Welcome to Week #26 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update brought to you by Dirt Care. We’re all on our way to Ste Julie, Quebec, for Round 3 of the 2025 Canadian Triple Crown Series Motocross Nationals. We haven’t been to this track since 2012. It sounds crazy for me to type that because it seems like just yesterday we were there. Man, time flies faster and faster!

With lots of elevation changes and a usual good-sized French Canadian fan base, you can just never go wrong hosting a race at this track just east of Montreal.

I remember it was here where I was standing in a hotel room with James Lissimore and Nick Evennou when Nick asked if either of us knew “Bigwave” because he wanted to meet him. James made some smart-assed remark and then it got awkward when we explained that I was, in fact, Bigwave. I got my revenge on James because he bought a used road bicycle off Nick and it was definitely at least on frame size too small for him. Maybe the punishment didn’t fit the crime…

If any province besides Ontario deserves more than one National it’s Quebec. They’ve always been big supporters of motorsports and sports in general. There’s a reason Montreal still plays host to a round of the F1 World Championship.

It’s supposed to rain all day Saturday for Amateur Day, so I’m not really looking forward to being out in it all day long but I’m looking forward to seeing who shows up in some of the most competitive classes, like Supermini, WMX, Junior, and Intermediate.

Kaven Benoit is who this week’s Update belongs to and it’s perfect timing! We’ll be seeing the 3-time and defending 250 Canadian MX Champion this week at Ste Julie. Will he be racing? Yes, he will.

We’ve got good news and we’ve got bad news:

The good news is that we’ll all get to sit back and watch him rip up a track that he’s surely very familiar with. The bad news is for everyone racing the FXR Premix class! Sorry to Crayden Dillon and Jonathan Bergeron.

Kaven has been in two of the most exciting and intense battles we’ve ever seen here in Canada. In 2014 he went up against Vince Friese and we witnessed some of the most bizarre moves ever. 10 years later he was up against the most highly touted American amateur rider in Drew Adams.

Kaven came out on top in both instances and it’s something we asked him about in our interview, so scroll down and check it out.

Here’s a look at his 2024 season:

I included Drew’s points so you can see just how intense last summer was!

While we finish off this drive, let’s get to the interview with Kaven.

Direct Motocross: Hello, Kaven. First off, we have to talk about your 3rd 250 title you won last summer. You gave us all something to cheer for as you fought off the charge of young phenom, Drew Adams. How important was that win in the grand scheme of things for you? How did that one rank? 

Kaven Benoit: I always have a hard time ranking the successful events through my career. I always line up to give everything I have and put a lot of focus on winning as much as I can. It’s just as special as all the other ones because I fought until the last second for that win. It seems like all my championships came with some adversity. In the end I am proud of myself for accomplishing all that especially at 35 years old.

You’ve had a couple of the craziest rivalries we’ve ever seen in Canada! Which one was a wilder ride for you, Last year with Drew Adams or the summer with Vince Friese?

Yeah, crazy rivalries! I think the summer with Friese was more stressful because the guy had zero respect and you never knew what dumb move he was gonna pull on you. Drew was a fair rider until the last race of the year, so overall a less stressful year than 2014. 

I half expected to see you show up to run the 450 class for KTM Canada this summer. How close did you come to returning to racing the Nationals?

Last fall at some point I was going to but after taking time off after Des Nations I concluded that I had had enough. It was a nice two bonus years back at the nationals full time, but my body is aging and it demands a lot to be a contender. I know what it takes to win at that level and just didn’t feel like I wanted to take those risks anymore. I thought that stepping away from the national scene full time with a championship was a nice way to do it too.

I’d say that’s every professional athlete’s dream! But now that you’ve seen the first couple rounds, any regrets? Would you like to have been out there?

I’m a racer! Haha For sure I look at it and have those thoughts of, “Man, I should be out there!” But no regrets. I am happy with where I’m at and all the cool stuff I am doing this year.

Both classes have great battles at the front. Who do you have for the titles this summer, and why?

I am good buddies with both DW (Dylan Wright) and JP (Jess Pettis),so I can’t pick. Haha I would like both to win because they both deserve it. I just hope both of them battle for that championship until the end. It’s fun for us to watch.

250 is interesting also. (Preston) Kilroy is surprising me so far but I think in the long run (Ryder) McNabb will have the title. We’ll see.

Can you tell us what keeps you busy these days?

I have been juggling between MX schools, racing the provincials in Quebec, working with KTM helping out with race team stuff, and being there to help with (Dylan) Rempel’s progression too. I have many projects on my property also.

Who is your top prospect that you’re training? Any up-and-comers we need to keep an eye on?

We are putting a lot of effort on Rempel right now. We want to give the kid the best tools and advice possible to reach his maximum potential. I like being still active on the bike because I can push him around on the track too. It keeps him accountable and that’s what it takes to get better. I had a lot of fun training Nathan Germain, Danik Paradis, Tegan Kortenbach and Hayden Dupuis in March.

With just a Sprinter van, an EZ Up and Dylan Rempel on a 250, the Red Bull KTM team is a little different than in years past. What do you think of that whole situation? Did they ask you to come back and ride?

It is a tougher year for the racing program at KTM budget-wise, but the focus was to deliver a solid program for the budget we had. Dylan’s got the proven winning championship bike under him, Nico (Nicolas Hebert) one of the best mechanics, and team members that are dedicated to winning. The rest we can work without. The rig will be out for east coast. To answer the last question, our plan was made last fall on my program and nothing is changing.

OK, so we’re heading into Quebec for 2 rounds this summer. Will we see you involved in either of them at all?

The plan right now is to be under the tent with the team to race FXR Premix on the KTM 150SX.

Now we’re talking! And last one, looking back over your career, do you have any regrets or anything you’d have done differently?

I would of like to have hit more US rounds but I was dedicated to racing over here and expenses were high to attend 1 or 2 of those races. In the end it’s not so bad because I had to race some bad ass guys on dirt bikes over here, especially my 450 days!

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Videos from FMSQ Cross-Country Round 3 at Gopher Dunes

2025 FMSQ | Round 3 Results – Gopher Dunes

Gopher Dunes

Courtland, Ontario

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Women:

1. Kaylie Kayer TRI 97:37
2. Veronique Pellerin-Chainé SHER 98:50
3. Emma Sharpless KTM 100:39
4. Felicia Robichaud YAM 100:47
5. Mila Pagé KTM 102:2
6. Rachel Sheney KTM 107:15
7. Marika Hamel SHER 110:42
8. Bianca Worner KTM 111:43
9. Megan Sharpless KTM 114:17
10. Gabrielle Ouimet HQV 115:3

Men:

1. Tyler Medaglia YAM 150:4
2. Alexandre Gougeon KTM 151:0
3. Loic Leonard HON 151:37
4. Quinn Amyotte KTM 156:27
5. Owen McKill GAS 157:8
6. Jean-Olivier Goulet 157:27
7. Jake Michaud HQV 158:24
8. Ryder Heacock YAM 160:3
9. Philippe Chainé KTM 160:50
10. Blake Davies TRI 161:19

Points:

1. Tyler Medaglia 75
2. Alexandre Gougeon 66
3. Loic Leonard 60
4. Jake Michaud 50
5. Owen McKill 46
6. Philippe Chainé 44
7. Jean-Olivier Goulet 43
8. Zach Sarrazin 35
9. Benjamin Blouin 28
10. Philippe Dagenais 22

Full results HERE

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WCAN is One Week Away at Wild Rose MX in Calgary

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Get Your JSR MXON Tee at Ste Julie!

ST JULIE!! Our limited edition JSR MXON t-shirts will be available at the Team Canada MXON Tent Saturday and Sunday! These turned out so good. Make sure you grab one at the track, we will run out for sure! He’s such a legend and we can’t thank him enough for what he has done for this sport! 

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Southwick AMA MX National Saturday

Do you think anyone races Southwick on Saturday and then heads north to race Ste Julie Sunday? I just Googled it and it’s 502 km / 312 miles from one track to the other. Tristan Lane, I’m looking at you!

We’ll have Jordon Wilsey of RussOgraphy on hand for us, so be sure to keep checking in on Saturday.

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Preston Masciangelo Racing Ste Julie

Brantford, ON rider #71 Preston Masciangelo will make an appearance at Ste Julie this weekend to add some more speed to the 450 class. He’s been racing as many AMA Pro Motocross Championship rounds as he can but this week will see him load up his GasGas 350 to race in Quebec.

I don’t remember seeing him race in the 450 class, so it will be interesting to see where he fits in. I’m guessing it will be somewhere in the 4-6 area, but we’ll see!

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Well, the van just started making a new weird sound under the hood. We’re pulled over at a dealership in Madoc to have it checked out so we’ll end this here. It could be minor or….

Have a great weekend, everyone. Enjoy all the racing above and below the border.