October 3, 2007 – To the average cyclist, the name Samantha Cools might not ring any bells. Mention her name in the BMX community, and you’ll quickly come to realize that she’s Canada’s top rider, and one of the most respected BMX racers in the world. Cools has been a 5-time UCI BMX World Champion, including a gold and silver medalist as a Junior. She has won countless National titles both in Canada and the US, has trained at the UCI World Cycling center, and traveled the world to compete for Canada and her sponsors.

As the BMX community has watched Cools grow throughout her BMX career, we now find her preparing for the most important race of her life… the 2008 Beijing Olympics where BMX will make its debut. At the UCI Continental race in Kingston, ON, Cools rebounded after her lackluster BMX Worlds performance, to win gold. Soon after she was 4th at the UCI North American Continental race in Louisville, KY, but the next day she competed against the same riders at the NBL Grands and won.

Cools talked to us about her life as an athlete now, her goals, and the challenges that she faces en route to Beijing. She also comes clean about her recent not-so-hot performance at the 2007 BMX World Championships in Victoria, BC, and the controversy surrounding her recent coaching change.

Congratulations on your win at Kingston and the NBL Grands!
Sam Cools: Thanks! Yeah it feels great to be on the winning track again! It was an amazing feeling, especially with everything that’s been happening.

Talk to us about your performance at the 07 BMX Worlds.
SC: At Worlds it wasn’t good at all. I choked on Saturday (20″, where she didn’t make it out of her semi final) and Sunday (placed 5th in the Cruiser competition). There was just a lot of pressure and I couldn’t handle it. Even though it was a setback, I learned a lot about myself that weekend and what I need to work on for upcoming races and ultimately for the Olympics.

Has the Worlds upset changed your focus going forward to the Olympics?
SC: A little bit because I know now what I need to do differently. I’m just going to take it race by race. Right now Canada doesn’t have enough points to earn a berth at the Olympics, so I’m just going to try my best and see what happens. (note: with Cools recent performances Canada currently ranks 7th overall for Elite Women enough to earn one Olympic berth in Beijing.)

Tell us about your recent coaching switch.
SC: When it was announced that BMX was going to be part of the Olympics, the National Team riders began training with the BMX national coach (Tanya Dubnicoff). As time went on things weren’t progressing as well as some of us hoped, and after the 2007 BMX Worlds in Victoria I realized I needed to take a different course. With only a year until the Olympics I felt that I needed to return to my training roots to get things back on track. It’s important for an athlete and a coach to make a connection, and unfortunately that didn’t happen with Tanya and I. So I’m going back to where I began racing, and I’m training with my dad and my brother Ken, who both know BMX really well, and things are feeling better.

Why weren’t you in Beijing at the UCI Supercross and the official test event on the Olympic track?
SC: I wasn’t in China because… well I’m not really sure exactly why because there seem to be several reasons. I was told that I wasn’t good enough to compete technically with the other girls in Beijing, and also that I didn’t do well enough at the 2007 BMX Worlds. Then I read on the CCA website that it was my decision not to go, as it would be better for me to stay in North America and compete at races to earn Olympic qualifying points. I understand there was also an e-mail saying that I was over tired from the BMX Worlds and needed a break.

Do you regret not being able to go?
SC: I wish I could have been there to compete against those girls as it was a very important race for me, and also to be on the track where we’re going to be racing next year at the Beijing Olympics. But it’s over now, and I just have to move on and look forward to the next races.

With the controversy over the BMX Worlds, Beijing and your new coaching direction how do you re-focus mentally?
SC: Well, I’m just going to try to get out there and have fun. I’m not going to think about the Olympics, I’m not going to think about trying to win. I do my best when I’m just having fun riding my bike and I’m just going to take it race-by-race, and that’s all I can do.