2000 Summer X Games freestyle silver medallist and step up gold medallist Tommy Clowers will be high rolling into Philadelphia this approaching week hoping to repeat his excellent performance last August on the Embarcadero in San Francisco. Coming off a broken collarbone suffered in March, Clowers has been using the summer months to prepare for his forthcoming air assault on Ben Franklin's hometown. Competing in contests virtually every weekend from early June right up through early August, Clowers has taken a pragmatic approach on what to expect in Philadelphia next Friday, August 17.

Clowers with his Freestyle Silver.

"It's a lot different because it's more competitive now," philosophizes the Californian. "The new guys have stepped up to the same level we, the veteran riders, are at. We knew it was going to get like this. We're all doing the same tricks and are at the same levels so it's going to be hard for the judges to differentiate everything.

"It's going to take good, clean, solid riding. In other words, no dead sailors" he continues, describing just what it's going to take to win a medal on all-new Philadelphia freestyle course. "A rider will have to do tricks with full extension and ride very smoothly. I try and do that all the time, but will it be good enough to win? It's a judged sport, so I can just go out and ride my best." Arguably the number one contender going into the 2001 Games, when asked about new freestyle sensation Dustin Miller of Reno, Nevada - a rider he has been compared with on numerous occasion - Tom Cat Clowers cuts right to the chase. "Yeah, I know him a little bit. He's definitely a good rider. We are a bit alike in that we're both short and look the same on the bike. Our styles aren't the same, though. I'm different than him in that I think I'm a little smoother rider."

Gettin' ready.

Last August, the Step-Up discipline of freestyle motocross was featured at the X Games. The brainchild of LXD president Paul Taublieb (the freestyle motocross event producer), the fossil-fuel launched version of the traditional Olympic sport was a major hit with both the spectator and ESPN viewing audience. A rider who first practiced the "high jump" craft while jumping cliffs in his native San Diego, Clowers took a resounding win. However, after being placed on injured reserve this spring, Clowers was forced to watch on as another San Diego native, namely Jeremy "Twitch" Stenberg won one step up contest after another. End result: a new contender for Clowers Gold Medal…

"He's doing good - he always does good," reasons Clowers of his antagonist. "But I think part of the reason he may be winning is because I'm not out there."

After such a successful campaign in 2000, Clowers says he hopes to be atop the victory podium in all three freestyle motocross disciplines - Freestyle Motocross, Step Up and Big Air (included the Summer X Games for the first time) - in Philadelphia, adding: "I definitely to medal in all three disciplines. I want to ride solid the whole time I'm there. Getting a gold medal will just be a bonus."

A former professional motocross racer, Clowers, who once competed against Brian Deegan and Mike Metzger in 125ss supercross events, has found a second life through freestyle motocross. In doing so, he has come to embrace the X Games and the global exposure the Olympics of alternative sports bring to freestyle.

Clowers - Hart Attack.

"The X Games is definitely the biggest contest of the year," declares Clowers. "Even if you just did the X Games, you can make a name for yourself. It just means a lot more. You give it all you have and you're on the edge more. Everyone when I go overseas to compete in a contest, everyone knows me as the guy from the X Games."

Between current AMA 125cc Motocross National Championship points leader Travis Pastrana (who, if healthy, will jump off the traditional motocross tour to compete in Philadelphia), Brian Deegan, Clowers and upstart Miller, the fight for gold in Philadelphia promises to be a beautiful mess. Can Clowers bounce back from his collarbone injury and fine-tune his tricks to the point where he can topple the Pastrana X Games dynasty? Tune in next week and find out for yourself.

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