It’s been quite the year for French rider, Anthony Bourdon as he has been racing all over the world. Starting the year racing in America contesting the 250SX West Coast series and having a number of top ten results. He also ended the season racing the World Supercross series so he has been all over the globe. He is now preparing for the 2025 season as he’ll race AMA Supercross once again and he started working with David Vuillemin.
Kevin Frelaud from Dailymotocross.fr recently caught up with Bourdon to discuss his American experience and much more.
Anthony. You finished second in this year’s Supercross de Paris in the Inter SX2 class. You were still leading the standings before the last race I suppose you’re a bit disappointed not to be Prince of Paris, but it was a great weekend all in all…
Bourdon: Quite a good weekend, clearly. Disappointed, yes and no. I think my place this weekend in terms of speed was behind Tom Vialle and Jo Shimoda. I found myself in the lead going into the last race, so of course I would have liked to go for first place overall, but Tom deserves his place. We saw that he wasn’t the same Tom as last season in Paris; he’s improved, he had a good rhythm and he went through the whoops well. Congratulations to him. I ended up with the same number of points as Jo and Tom because they made mistakes this weekend. My strength is that I was able to be consistent this weekend.
You’ve been doing great at the Paris Supercross for two years in a row, and it seems to be working out well for you here. Why is that?
Bourdon: I don’t know what it is. It’s true that I’ve done a good Paris Supercross for two years in a row, but I’ve also had some poor performances here in the past. Still, it’s cool, and I hope it will continue like that. It’s also hard work that pays off at some point. I think I’ve been training well. I spent a month and a half with David Vuillemin in the US. I’ve been training hard physically, on the bike, and it’s paying off. I think that’s another reason why I’m on the podium this weekend. I’d also like to thank David for all the time he’s spent with me recently.
Last year, you signed with BarX Suzuki after your great performance at the Paris Supercross. Can we go back over the preparation time you had with this team before moving to the West Coast? I don’t think people are really aware of the fact that you lined AT A1 with A very limited preparation on this RM-Z.
Bourdon: That’s true, but let’s say I was ready anyway because in France we have quite a few races with the SX Tour and the Paris Supercross. Before arriving in the US, I’d done a few races, but it’s true that I arrived in the USA really late, and that I started my preparation there really late compared to the Americans who’d been riding for 3 months on American tracks. I arrived on the American tracks two or 3 weeks before Anaheim 1 and I found it hard to get through the rhythm sections when the others had already been on the tracks for several months. It was a bit complicated at first, but I quickly adapted. The first few races went really well. It was the first time I’d set foot in the USA, so everything went a bit fast for me at first. I didn’t get carried away, I just rode the way I knew how. Basically, if I’d qualify for the main, it would have been great. In the end, I set some good times in practice, had some good qualifying heats and finished in the top 10. Frankly, I couldn’t have wished for much better.
You finished your first term in 8th place, with top 10 finishes on the West Coast. Were there any surprises in the end?
Bourdon: In terms of results, yes. If someone had told me before the start of the 2024 season that I was going to finish in the top 10 of the US championship, I wouldn’t have believed it. I didn’t have any hang-ups about the American riders, the tracks, etc. I rode with concentration, as I’d always done. That’s kind of my strength and it paid off at the end of the season.
When you launch into the unknown with a project like this, there are always new things, differences from what you know and what you’re used to. Was there anything that really surprised you on the spot?
Bourdon: We all know this to a greater or lesser extent, but it’s true that American tracks are not the same as those in France, even if this weekend in Paris, we still had a good track compared to what’s being done in the United States. The tracks are very demanding and you don’t have as much room for error. When I arrived, I was really struggling with the jumps. It was a really big difference for me. The tracks, and the suspension as a result. They’re much firmer than what we ride in France, because here we have small tracks and we ride on softer suspensions, so we can turn into corners and so on.
You got closer to David Vuillemin to prepare for your 2025 season. What do you expect from this collaboration?
Bourdon: David and I had already discussed the possibility of working together at the start of 2024. What I’m expecting from it is to be able to take a step. If I don’t change anything in my program, I won’t be able to progress. I’m trying to change my training a bit, my approach to things.
Physically, over the last three years, I’ve never done as much sport in a month and a half as I’ve done since I started working with David. It’s changing my training and I hope it will pay off in the USA too; that’s why we’re preparing with DV.
The deal was to do six weeks together until Paris, and then see what happens. I hope to continue with him for the whole of the 2025 season.
What do you think he’ll tell you in the on-the-spot debrief with David this evening after the Paris Supercross?
Bourdon: That I’m back on the pace. I spent a month and a half riding 450s in the US because the 250s weren’t ready. After a month and a half on a 450, jumping on a 250 was a big change. I still did the job and I think David would tell me that I did my day’s work on Saturday and that Sunday was just a bonus. I think he saw that I did some decent things, but after that, obviously, there’s still a lot of work to do. We didn’t really talk after the last race, but I know there’s still a lot of work to do.
Does that mean that by 2025, you’re aiming to do better than 8th in the 250 Supercross championship?
Bourdon: I haven’t really set myself any goals for next year, but it’s true that this year I’ve already had some great races. To do as well, I’m going to have to keep pushing hard. I hope to do just as well, maybe even better. I’d like to get into the top 5 in a few main events and I don’t think that’s impossible if I prepare properly with David, if all the planets align; I think I could do well in the USA.
A word about the opening of the World Supercross in Vancouver. Talking to the other riders, they were surprised by the nature of the track. Is that something you agree with?
Bourdon: Absolutely. It was a weekend where I really struggled. What’s more, I was in the USA in California at the time. We did a lot of riding on concrete because it was 30, 35 degrees. By the time we got to Vancouver, it was really soft. It was difficult to ride and I didn’t have a very good weekend there. I didn’t have a very good feeling with the track, and I don’t think I was the only one, but in the end it was the same for everyone. I didn’t manage to ride very well in those conditions.
250 RM-Z in the US, 450 KX-F on the SX Tour and World Supercross, 250 KX-F in Paris, 250 YZ-F next year. Aren’t all these transitions too complicated for you to manage?
Bourdon: The biggest difference is going from one engine to another. In itself, the make of bike doesn’t change much. Going from a Yamaha 450 to a Kawasaki 450 is still a 450, even if there are a few minor adjustments to make. The biggest change is the displacement change, which is the most difficult for me. Having said that, and as we saw this weekend, I adapted well and quickly to the 250 KX-F, even though I’d only been riding a 450 for a while. Going from the 450 to the 250, from the 250 to the 450, it’s not the same throttle on the jumps, in the rhythm sections. You have to go through a period of adaptation, and that’s the hardest part for me.
They’ve made some changes to the SX Tour this year with a restructured Junior championship, and a likely 85cc championship next year. These are welcome changes to prepare for the future, and the next generation of French riders?
Bourdon: Absolutely, I fully support everything that JLFO (French Supercross Promoter) is doing for young riders this year. Unfortunately, if they don’t do that, there won’t be a succession to follow. We’ve had a great 125cc championship and there are a few youngsters pushing hard up front. It’s great to see 125cc riders in Supercross, especially in Paris. Congratulations to the whole JLFO team who take care of this, it allows young people to arrive and develop, and these young people will be there behind us, behind me, to take over.
