Asa Vermette Interview - The #USDH Prodigy Reflects on His 2024 Season

Did you believe the hype? Coming into the 2024 World Cup season, Asa Vermette was an obvious favorite in the Junior Men"s category. He"d been fast domestically for a few years, and with the support of Frameworks and guidance from Neko Mulally and Angel Suarez, he seemed poised to have a successful debut on the international stage. Then, at the first round in Fort William, Asa waxed everyone by 6 seconds. You tack on the fact that he won after sitting on the couch for weeks prior healing a broken hip, and the hype became simple facts. The next generation is always faster than the last, and Asa is leading the latest charge.  Fast forward to now, and we"ve been lucky to watch Asa and Max Alran exchange blows all year. Each has three wins, and Mont Sainte Anne was teeing up to be an epic final round between the two. Unfortunately, Asa"s crash in Loudenvielle left him more battered and bruised than initially suspected, putting an end to his first World Cup season. A bittersweet conclusion to an otherwise successful year, we wanted to know how Asa felt about his season—the highs, the lows, the lessons learned, and the goals for 2025. We talked about a whole lot more, so enjoy getting to know more about the calm kid from Durango who"s damn fast on a bike. 0:00 - Intro 1:37 - Why Asa isn"t racing MSA 4:24 - Injuries collected throughout the season 5:19 - The balance of pushing and crashing 8:06 - Did he feel the pressure going into the season? 12:00 - Key takeaways from his first World Cup season  13:38 - Why keeping racing fun is key 14:51 - Asa"s pump-up music of choice  15:51 - Advice from Neko and Angel 17:05 - How Asa gets up to speed and breaks down tracks 21:10 - Favorite country he visited this year  22:50 - Favorite track of the year 23:33 - Getting used to riding in the mud 25:32 - Injury updates going into the offseason 28:05 - How Asa passes the time when he"s hurt  29:46 - Favorite Elite racer 30:55 - Asa explains his nasty whips 31:56 - Doing a flip in a race run?? 36:17 - Who"s got the best whips? 38:29 - Things to improve on this offseason 40:22 - Training program chit-chat   42:21 - What Asa rides day-to-day 42:04 - Asa"s perfect riding day 43:36 - Freestyle Asa 44:52 - Winter riding plans 45:48 - 2025 Goals 46:49 - 5 Years from now, where will Asa be…