Its not very often I get the chance to race a world cup, but I jump at the chance when I do. I feel that there is nothing that gets me feeling better on my bike than a weekend with the fastest riders in the world. With Rampage around the corner, feeling good on the bike is very important.
The only other big race I did this year was nationals, which earned me a spot on the Canadian team for worlds. I figured Windham would be a perfect warm up so I headed out with my brother. The track in Windham was sick. Short, fast and constant, It made for tight racing and no room for error. I had no expectations at all in terms of a result, my only goal was to qualify. After a pretty conservative run I did just that and was slotted into the final in 52nd spot. The finals were just a bonus for me but I tried to get into a competitive mindset and better my my run from qualifying. My finals run went pretty well until I encountered a few problems right at the bottom of the course, I ended up 43rd.
All in all the weekend was awesome, I had a ton of fun riding the track with friends I don't see very often. The american crowds were amazing, even out cheering during practice. Now its time to focus on riding for Canada at the Worlds. I can't wait!
TV
August Update
August 15, 2010 7:13 PM
Its been a busy August so far. I started off doing some coaching for the Summer Gravity camps in Whistler. Then it was off to Kamloops to work on some photos with Matt Hunter and Sterling Lorence. The days were long and hot but I think you'll like what we were working on.
Crankworks was up next, the busiest week of the summer up in Whistler. Things started off well with the Saint Deep Summer photo challenge. I worked with Jordan Manley, who I went to high school with, as well at Mike Hopkins and Darcy Turine. Jordan has won a bunch of the Deep Winter photo challenges but this was his fist crack at the Summer event. Our three days of shooting went great, weather was mixed which made for a good variety of shots. We ran into a lot of other teams on the hill and the trash talking was all time! The evening was awesome, a sold out crowd of over 1000 people and we took home the win to top it all off. Thanks to Shimano for putting it all on, I will definitely take part in it next year.
Another highlight of crankworks was a small industry premier of the highly anticipated film Life Cycles. I worked with these guys on a night segment in Whistler but I hadn't seen any of the footage or the rest of the film. I was blown away. These guys have put an unbelievable amount of work into their film and it really shows. There will be premiers at Interbike and Eurobike next month so check it out.
Now Im off to Mount Saint Anne for the World Championships. Its not really a goal I had coming into the season but after a good result at the Nationals I was selected to the team along with my brother. I've got no real expectations for the race, just so stoked to be going and looking forward to the experience.
Peace!
TV
Follow Me Profile
July 15, 2010 4:04 PM
Canadian Nationals- Panorama BC
July 13, 2010 8:40 AM
What a weekend in Pamorama BC. I travelled out with my brother to do some racing. With a 6 year absence from the Canadian Nationals is was cool to be back mixing it up with the countries best. There is a resurgence happening in canadian racing, which Im sure has to do with the success Stevie Smith is having on the world cup circuit.
I rode in practice with our newly formed race team, Team Freeride. Myself, Ryan, Kenny Smith, and Jordie Lunn. We scowered the course for some good freeride lines but it provided none, so we stuck to the fast ones. The course was fast, dusty and full of holes. I felt pretty good in practice but having not raced for so long I had no idea how what type of result to expect. A messy qualifying run put me in 9th, and I felt I could improve on that.
My race run went better and in the end times were tight. I came down half a second ahead of my brother and knocked him out of the hot seat, crazy! Good for 4th and 5th place. Kenny rode well for 7th, and Jordie didn't have the best day. All in all it was a great weekend. Congratulations to the top 3, Andrew Mitchell, Jamie Biluk and Dean Tennant.
I found myself at home this weekend for the first time in a month. There was a local bike event going on, the North Shore Bike Fest. It was my first time attending and only the second year for the festival, but I thought it was great. Lots of kids were out riding bikes, hopefully getting hooked!
I did the DH race and had a great time. I felt very good on the course until I crashed in my race run. I guess thats racing, maybe Ill have to do another one to make up for it. Good to see the North Van bike community out strong, Peace.
Japan
June 2, 2010 4:00 PM
Konnichiwa Japan!What an amazing place, Matt Hunter and I traveled there for the first time
last week to hook up with Shimano for a few events.
Our trip started in Nagano at the Louis Garneau Cup, a local,
family oriented festival with a ton of different events.Matt and I rode in the 5 hour enduro, dual
slalom, and even a kid's bike race. The highlight though had to be watching the old timers
dual slalom race.The rules are
riders had to ride their oldest bike and wear the corresponding kit!As I watched, a lot of memories of
bikes I dreamed about were brought back.The real revelation for me was the strength of the mountain bike culture
in Japan.From the retro race to
the amount of kids riding in the 5 hour enduro it was clear that the people
there love mountain biking.
Next it was off to Tokyo by train for a Follow Me
premier.I had no idea what to
expect but once again we were treated very well.The show was in this cool little spot, right in downtown
Tokyo.It was sold out and the
people that came to watch were very enthusiastic.We were signing posters and taking pictures non-stop until
the movie started.A lot of folks
even brought pictures that they had taken with me over the years to sign, so
cool.Afterward we did a little
interview and put our very limited Japanese to the test.Min Na Saikoh!All in all the night was a great
success, thanks to Visualize Image for putting on a great show.
The last leg of our trip was a visit to the Shimano factory,
which was insane!The main office
is located in Osaka and is a very impressive facility.We were able to tour the factory and
see the parts we ride as there were being made.I can't share everything we saw though, no cameras
allowed!It did give me a great
appreciation for the process parts go through before I put them on my
bike.Now I know why I can't bend
those Saint cranks! At the end of the trip we had a day off and visited the Bicycle Museum and many Japanese landmarks including the golden temple and the Tomb of Emperor Nintoku.
Huge thanks to
Shimano for a great trip and everyone we met along the way.It was so awesome to go riding, see the
sights, and experience many new foods.I felt very welcome as a first timer in Japan; I hope it's not the last.
I look forward to traveling to Lago Di Garda every year. It's
an opportunity for me to see a lot of friends, ride great trails and eat the
best food in the world.As I have
attended the festival many times before, it has become a bit of a tradition to
celebrate my birthday there.The
team at Shimano really enjoyed embarrassing me with a birthday cake and singing
happy birthday!Thanks guys, you
make it feel like home.
This year I decided to take part in the Enduro race, which
is more like a mini downhill mixed with trials.The course is very technical and a little more than a minute
long but you get docked 10 seconds if you put your foot down at any point on
the track.I only got to ride it a
couple of times before the race but it was good fun and an interesting
challenge. Then it was off to a
premier of "Follow Me" followed... by one or two birthday beers.
I spent the rest of the weekend working with Shimano and
Pro.With my Star Series line now
available on the market it is great to see people riding the products and hearing
from them.Again this year, Shimano
organized a freeride tour along with Milka.Richie Schley, Andrew Shandro and I guided about 30 people per
day down some local trails, thanks to everyone that came out.We wrapped it
all up by handing out free beer at the booth, it can be a tough job sometimes.
Thanks to everyone one at Shimano, Pro, and Paul Lange for
another great trip.See you next
year.
April
March 29, 2010 8:55 PM
Some places I will be in April 2010
"Follow Me" Premier Whistler- April 18th
"Follow Me" Premier Vancouver- April 23
Garda Festival, Italy
There is a "Follow Me" Premier in Garda on my birthday. If you are there, it's going to be a party...
I used to hate the gym. I didn't starting going until my first injury 4 years ago, a broken leg. Working with some of the trainers at Level 10 Fitness I got hooked on the out of the ordinary exercises they had me doing. Now I work hard in the winter to get ready for the season, with the main goal of staying healthy.
Follow Me official teaser
March 10, 2010 9:21 PM
Here it is. Official full length Follow Me teaser
Canada Vs Russia
February 25, 2010 10:13 PM
I've never seen anything like the Canada vs Russia Olympic hockey game last night. The building was out of control. Canada dominated the game and we celebrated hard! Proud to be Canadian
Ali vs Cosell
February 25, 2010 1:11 PM
Muhammad Ali and Howard Cosell had the best Athlete/Reporter relationship ever seen in sports. Here are some highlights of the two going at each other.
Congratulations Maelle
February 18, 2010 10:05 AM
North Vancouver's own winning gold.
Shooting the Shore
February 12, 2010 12:36 PM
The crew at Anthill films did a great write up on our shoot with Sam Hill on the shore.
The olympics have rolled into town and brought the world along with it. Vancouver is buzzing like I've never seen it before. Personally as a big fan of nearly every sport, I get pumped up for the olympics no matter where they are.
First up for me is whistler this weekend to watch a high school riding buddy try to win an Olympic medal in the mens downhill ski race. If you are watching out there cheer extra loud for Manuel Osborne Paradis or give him your support on twitter @manuelracing. Let the games begin!
Welcome to thomasvanderham.com
February 11, 2010 8:22 PM
thomasvanderham.com will be the #1 source for my latest news, updates, and general information. Gallery, Bio and Sponsor's are on the way. In the mean time please check my blog and don't hesitate to send me questions, comments or photos with Write Thomas. Cheers
A tribute to the G.O.A.T
February 8, 2010 5:53 PM
Nuff Said
Pro- promo video
February 5, 2010 3:54 PM
Pro Star Series reviewed
February 4, 2010 4:13 PM
I got a kick out of this review of my Star Series line from Pro.
The boys at Anthill have thrown together a quick teaser for the bike parks segment. It was a ton of fun filming for this with Brendan Fairclough, hope you guys like the final product. By the way the guy at :30 has a nice swing!
