Frid’Eh Update #38 | Yanick Boucher | Presented by Cobequid Mountain Sports

By Billy Rainford

Presented by Cobequid Mountain Sports
Week #38 belongs to Yanick Boucher from Hearst, Ontario. | Bigwave photo

Welcome to Week #38 of the DMX Frid’EH Update presented this week by Cobequid Mountain Sports and coming to you from the Media Tent at the Motocross of Nations in Mantova, Italy!

I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to do more than edit the Week #38 honouree, Yanick Boucher‘s interview so we’ll see where this goes this week.

Yanick is the fast and friendly rider from up in Hearst, Ontario. I’m always amazed by anyone who can come from some of these more remote towns cross Canada and progress through our tough sport to the point of becoming a top 10 pro rider. Just think about the commitment that must have taken by his parents to drive to the races when Yanick was coming up through the ranks! It’s a commendable job and I really think they need to be mentioned here.

Let’s have a look at his 2021 season:

Yanick finished 11th in MX, 6th in SX, and 7th overall in the 450 Triple Crown points. It was a good year for the hard-working plumber from the small Northern Ontario town.

Yanick is one of many riders taking advantage of the opportunities provided by the growing sport of Snow Bikecross in the winter months. It’s given new life to riders looking for a way to stay on the bike year round in a country that has snow on the ground nearly half the calendar year.

Here’s what Yanick had to say when we spoke with him this week:

Here’s what Yanick had to say when we spoke with him this week. | Bigwave photo

Direct Motocross: Hello, Yanick. Where have we found you and what have you been doing the past couple weeks since the Supercross series ended?

Yanick Boucher: Hi, Billy! After the last round of Supercross I drove back home and have been back at work since.

Let’s talk about 2021. You just missed cracking the top 10 in the MX portion after a couple rough rounds. Can you take us through how you thought your series went?

The 2021 season was really good for me, over all! Came up a bit short of the top ten but I’m happy with how things went. There were a few rounds that I struggled at that really hurt my overall standing. Now I know what I need to work on!

And then you stayed around for the SX series. You were very consistent and always seemed to battle with Parker Sales and Ryan Derry. How did that series go for you?

Yes I did commit to a couple more weeks down south to do the Supercross series. I had very little Supercross experience coming in, so it was definitely a big learning curve. My main focus was to have fun and not get hurt (Laughs), so I’d say it went pretty good!

Yanick was pretty happy with how his 2021 season went. | Bigwave photo

How do you like Supercross? Is it something you’d like to do more of?

It’s a lot of fun! Something different to learn and challenge yourself on. I would definitely do more if I get the chance. 

What are you plans for the rest of the fall season before the snow flies?

Mostly working, trying to catch up on all the work that has accumulated since I left for the summer racing. Other than that I hope to get out on my bike a few times and get things lined up for the winter season.

And how is the Snowbike Cross series shaping up this year? What are your plans at this point?

It’s still kinda up in the air. The states has released a schedule but nothing for Canada yet. Time will tell but I’m really hoping the border restrictions will go away so we can travel back and forth across the border for racing. However, I do plan to spend more time free-riding on my snow bike here in Ontario and out West to further promote the sport away from the track.

Yanick raced his Snow Bike at the 2019 Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado. | Bigwave photo

You live in Hearst, Ontario. What’s the town’s tag line/motto? And who’s the most famous person to come out of Hearst?

It’s “Hearst is different.” It’s a funny one but pretty accurate. Certain things are different in small Northern Ontario towns compared to down south. The most famous person I would say is Claude Giroux. He’s team captain for the Philadelphia Flyers in the NHL.

I know you have a full-time job in the family plumbing business, so when we go across the entire country next summer, will you do the whole series again?

I would love to do the full series again, especially travelling across the country. We’ll see what next summer brings but if the opportunity is there I’m going for sure! It’s always tough because the work load goes up during the summer, but I’m really lucky to have a family that supports me 100% towards my racing.

His 6th at Deschambault this year was the highlight of his summer. | Bigwave 2019 photo

What was the highlight of your 2021 summer?

The highlight was, for sure, my career best 6th place finish on the Monday in Deschambault! I snuck around all the carnage in the first turn, and from there I knew I was up there but really didn’t know what position I was in exactly until Parker (Eales) passed me with two laps to go. I then saw 6th on the pit board. I was pumped but bummed at the same time because I let that top 5 go. Haha.

What do you like better, these days, snow or dirt?

I can never seem to decide which one I like most. I really enjoy both seasons so I don’t really have a favourite. Although snow bikes are nice because they stay clean and you don’t have to worry about dirty air filters. Haha

He says he’d like to do the entire series again in 2022, so keep an eye out for the #17 next summer. | Bigwave photo

Oh, and now that Husqvarna is into the electric-assist MTB thing, is that something you’ll be getting into?

I got the chance to try one of the Husqvarna e-bikes for the first time at Walton. They’re so much fun! I love mountain biking and these things take the fun to a whole new level. I would really like to have one to rip around next summer.

OK, thank you for chatting with us this week. Good luck this winter and who would you like to thank?

Always fun to chat! Thanks a lot for reaching out. I’d like to say thank you to my team Bailey Motorsports, my family & girlfriend for everything they do for me as well as all the great sponsors that keep us going strong year round! Husqvarna Motorcycles, Yeti SnowMx, Fly Racing, Motul, Hall Race Fuels, Renegade fuels, Central Marine Muskoka, Flybyu Motorsports, PLX Sport, Prospec Suspension, WP Suspension, Rekluse Canada, Mongoose Machine, Flo Motorsports, 139 Designs, St.Onge Recreation, Boucher Plumbing, C3 Powersports, Scott, Atlas, Gaerne, Mobius, Seco seat cover.

I ended up being able to get on the same flights as Derek Schuster from Gopher Dunes, so it was nice to buddy up and have some company on the ling trip over here. Here’s a short video highlighting our journey:

As I type this portion, I’m waiting for the team to gather for a group track walk. The weather is perfect today. They are still saying there’s a 30 percent chance of rain for Sunday. Yes, that’s a pretty low percentage, but they say it could pack 5-10mm of rain if it does hit our area. We’ll have to wait and see if the forecast changes as the weekend comes.

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So, we’ve had a busy day here in Italy. I’m now back in the Media Tent which happens to be right beside our pits, meaning I have full bars of wifi while I’m in there. It’s amazing.

Now I’m in the tent listening to the MXON Press Conference before we get introduced to some teams and managers draw for gate picks.

I’ll have to end this here. Also, keep in mind we are 6 hours ahead of Eastern time back in Canada.

Here are some videos from Friday at the MXON and Team Canada:

The Team Canada pits:

#111 Tyler Medaglia MX3

#109 Dylan Wright MXGP

#110 Jake Piccolo MX2

(Still waiting for his graphics…)

Have a great weekend, everyone. The racing action starts tomorrow with individual class qualifying. Our guys have yet to go through tech inspection, so they are getting ready for that next step. Job 1 on Saturday is qualifying directly to the motos without having to race the B Main.