5 Minutes with…Lane Gagne
By Jeff McConkey
Foreword by Billy Rainford
Most of you are aware of Brittany Gagne‘s story of moving from New Hampshire to Montana last year and still making it all the way back for the Women’s East Nationals. She’s back this summer and competing in all 4 rounds, but did you know there is another Gagne racing? 19-year-old Lane Gagne is also competing in a select few Eastern rounds of the Rockstar Energy Drink MX Nationals this season and just came off his best round to date. We caught up with the hard-working American rider to see how things have been going for him.
#562 (See how it’s his sister’s number backwards? We did.) Lane Gagne talks about his season|Bigwave photo
Direct Motocross: Hey Lane, how’s it going?
Lane Gagne: Hey guys, everything is going good here back in New Hampshire.
What have you been up to since Ulverton?
Sunday night after Ulverton we made the short trip back to New Hampshire. I was home around 11 PM and was at work Monday morning around 7. I work for a family business, and when I get home at night I spend time on a spin bike.
Can you tell us a little about yourself?
I am 19 years old and from Dummer, New Hampshire. I have been riding since I was 2-and-a-half years old and started racing at 4. I have been racing every summer since then. Currently, I am in the middle of going to college and competing in a trial for world welding competition. I work during the week with my dad and then we travel to the races on the weekends.
Lane says that having his sister here and doing so well is great motivation for him to push harder|Bigwave photo
How did you end up racing the Canadian Nationals?
I went to a Canadian National back in 2008 where my sister raced the women’s and I raced amateur day. Then when I turned 16 my dad and I talked about me trying one that summer, but I ended up getting hurt so I couldn’t make it. But in 2015 I made it to my first Canadian national. I did two last year and ended up getting hurt the second moto at Deschambault.
OK, so you showed up at Gopher Dunes and qualified an impressive 17th in MX1. Tell us how Gopher went for you.
Gopher Dunes was an awesome experience for me. I haven’t ridden in the sand for probably like 5 years so going into it I was a bit nervous. We showed up Friday morning and looking at the track I knew it was going to be an interesting day on Sunday. When I went out in practice I felt really good. We made a few changes to my suspension before qualifying and it made me feel better on the bike. I ended up 17th in qualifying and was super-pumped.
The first moto I got a good start and was running about 19th when I ended up going down pretty hard; the crash threw me off for the rest of that moto. During the second moto I had some bike issues and ended up sitting in the mechanics area most of the moto. But Gopher was a good experience for me because I qualified good and made it out safe.
Fast forward a week, and you scored your first Pro point in a super-stacked MX1 class at Ulverton. How does it feel?
Scoring my first pro point is such a surreal feeling for me. Seeing my name on the list of riders is something that I have always
dreamed of seeing, and now that it is happening I want to keep moving up in the results.
What are your plans for the rest of the season?
I plan on doing the last two rounds of the series at Deschambault and RJ’s.
Watch for Lane at the final two rounds, Deschambault and RJ’s|Bigwave photo
How does it feel to be chasing the Pro Nationals with your sister Brittany?
Being able to chase the series with my sister is awesome. I get to watch her race on Saturday and then I race on Sunday. We are fortunate to both be able to chase our dreams and help each other out along the way.
Brittany has really upped her game this season. Does seeing her do so well fire you up to put in the work to get to the next level?
Having my sister do so well definitely pushes me to do better. I feel like being able to push each other makes it easier for us to get better and achieve more.
What are your goals for the remainder of the season?
For the two rounds I plan on doing, I want to continue to do better. My goal is to get into the top 20 and put together 2 good sets of motos and get 2 good overall finishes.
Thanks for your time Lane, how about you give the people supporting you some love.
Thank you to everybody helping me out this season: Mondak Sports, Pat Gagne Logging, Tigercat, Gagne and Sons Logging LLC, MBS Equipment, Factory Connection, Kenricks Logging, The Thibodeau family, The Nadeau family, ScottUSA, Dunlop, 139 Designs, Links Racing, FMF, Rynopower, Deft Family, Droptine Consulting LLC, my sister Brittany, Jake Brown, and especially my mom and dad, I couldn’t do it without all the amazing people behind me.
