Five Minutes with … Jolene Van Vugt
MAY 22, 2008

Jolene Van Vugt is more than ready to take on Canada's fastest females this summer

By Danny Brault

The queen of the infamous Nitro Circus videos, Jolene Van Vugt, has traded in her parachute temporarily while she focuses on the upcoming Canadian Women’s National Series that kicks off this weekend in Ste-Julie. Van Vugt has always been an advocate for women’s motocross, and she was heavily involved in developing the Women’s series two years ago. This season, Van Vugt will try to reclaim her #1 plate from Heidi Cooke.

RXC: Jolene, are you getting excited for Ste-Julie?
Jolene Van Vugt: Yeah, I’ve been training super hard and I can’t wait to see what all of the other girls have accomplished over the year. I know the competition will be tougher than last year, Heidi [Cooke] will be back and as strong as ever, Missy [Hackett], and Jocelyn [Killough] are doing well, Kristina Sundal is back, so I know there will be a lot of girls up front, fighting for podiums.

Do you know much about this Jacqueline Ross who is racing for KTM?
No, not really, but that's awesome that KTM has taken a female to the team, I was hoping they would. Too bad it wasn't a Canadian girl though.

Your bike definitely looks great. Tell us about your new deal with Blackfoot.
It’s an exciting new adventure. I’ve moved on to a company that’s more suited to my lifestyle for my growth inside and outside of the industry. It’s through Blackfoot Motorsports and I will still be riding a Suzuki. I have a lot of support through them, basically all of their team sponsors except Yamaha Canada, are helping out.

Have you been jumping off into any canyons or water skiing on the moon lately?
I jumped off a 300-foot cliff three weeks ago. That was cool! I did some base-jumping and stuff like that. We’ve been up to a bunch of crazy antics, as we’re filming for the next Nitro Circus video called Double Wide. We were in Oklahoma at Cooperland, and then Utah for the Winter Games, Costa Rica, and Arizona. I also did a freestyle thing in Austria. Now, over the past few months, I’ve been training and riding a lot of motocross.

Since becoming part of the Nitro Circus crew, what’s the coolest thing you’ve done?
Well, I think I’m never going to top the Grand Canyon jump, and the trip itself was a great experience. It went good and everyone walked away alive and we got the footage. It scared the crap out of me but was definitely the biggest thrill of my life.

Van Vugt's photo shoot took place at the Wild Rose track in Calgary. Check out that view!

photo: David Pinkman

How does stunt work compare to motocross racing? Do you prefer one over the other?
I really like them both, but the stunt work stuff is a new chapter in my life. I’m looking forward to that in the future, where as I’m getting towards the end of my motocross career. I’ve had a good run, I met my goals, and enjoyed being a good pillar in Canadian motocross. But there comes a time in life when you have to move forward and start buying a house and stuff like that. Unfortunately, motocross isn’t doing that. I really love this stunt stuff and it’s come at a really good time. I love them both and I'm doing both right now, but at some point, it’s going to come down to moving forward or keep living the dream and I’ve been living the dream for a while [laughs].

What do your parents think of your wild lifestyle?
I don’t really know [laughs]; they stay pretty low key about it all. They just tell me they’re proud of me and give me big hugs when I come home cause I’m still alive. My dad thinks it’s really awesome, and, like myself, feels it’s exceeded my expectations of things I wanted to do in life. I’ve done more things than I ever thought possible. They always support me in motocross and reaching my dreams.

How’s your brother Billy doing?
Billy’s doing well; he’s doing a bunch of freestyle shows. He was working in the winter with my dad, and then helped me with my Austrian performance, and now he’s back training hard for his 866 Industries freestyle team.

What’s the key to taking down Heidi this year?
[Laughs] I don’t know; I’ve been trying to figure that out for 10 years! Heidi has always been someone I look up to in strength, riding and training. She’s such a strong individual with natural ability and she works really hard for what she has. I just have to train hard and be aggressive on the bike, because she’s like a little bulldog on the bike [laughs].

We’re definitely looking forward to seeing some great racing from you girls this summer. Good luck in Ste-Julie!
Thanks!