by Davey Coombs
250 Words: Anaheim 2
Sunday, February 5, 2012 | 5:20 PM
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PrintA little less than two years ago Eli Tomac turned pro and rode right into the record books by winning the first pro race he ever entered: the 2010 Hangtown Motocross Classic. Many of us in the motocross media immediately pegged him as the next big superstar of the sport. But then things went a little sideways for the GEICO Honda rider from Colorado. He struggled with his endurance following a near meltdown at the Freestone National, and he hasn't won a national since. He also had an up-and-down rookie SX tour in 2011, losing the West Region title to Broc Tickle after losing him in traffic at the end of the Las Vegas finale. Obviously we were a little premature in pinning such great expectations on him.
But now he's winning—streaking even. The quiet, polite and very fast teenager has taken hold of the West Region with a steady grip, reeling off three wins while his primary competition has floundered and made mistakes. Dean Wilson, Cole Seely, Marvin Musquin and the now-injured Tyla Rattray (not to forget the departed Zach Osborne) are all very fast, but they have all been unable to put together what it takes to win one of these events in the last three weeks: a good start and 15 laps without any mistakes.
Tomac took home his third straight win on Saturday in Anaheim.
Photo: Simon Cudby
Tomac, meanwhile, has laid down 45 straight laps of methodical brilliance, building a points lead of almost one full race on Wilson. With one race left in the West before these guys go on hiatus, it's easy to imagine that Tomac can pretty much put this thing away with another win in San Diego. If that happens, one might expect Wilson and friends to start focusing on the outdoors and a new championship chase, because this one is almost out of reach for anyone but Eli Tomac. In fact, it's his to lose, and having done that last year, it's doubtful he loses it again.
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I agree it looks like Eli has knocked ProCircuit out in the west and he deserves it the way he is smoking them. This could be the year Mitch does not win anything and the odds are good he won't.
I think it is very cool that E Mac is putting the hurt down on this field after the crap that went down at Vegas last year. I hope he and Barcia are like a 1-2 knockout punch in the outdoors as well.
I think come outdoor time, you will see Barcia jump up to the 450's with KDub and Tomac, Bogle, Hahn and DeCoites will handle the 250's
I think all the pieces are finally coming together for Eli. He's got one of the best training/support programs a rider can have, for god sakes his father is none other that John Tomac. There's just two much emphasis on bikes these days and not enough on fitness. Would like to see Racer X put some training programs together for there readers, if you want to go faster that's really where it's at.
Come on skycooper, the top guys are all in shape. Most readers are weekend warriors and are lucky to ride once a week. Then main thing that would help them is more time on the bike. There is no substitute for seat time.
Young Tomac is a much better sport than I am. I'm still holding a grudge against Seely for that Vegas BS that took place. Unless you're on drugs, you can just see when someone has more confidence in not only his skills, but over his competitors. Tomac is riding a huge wave right now. Most pros let the confidence turn into c@ckiness. Am hoping he just keeps having fun and his parents keep him grounded. I'm not won over as a fan in 1 or 2 races. This kid is really earning me as a longtime fan. He's the real deal IMO.
Racingforthesun- Au contraire I would argue that while all of the top riders have a fitness and training program many,if not most of these programs aren't geared towards MX and are not that effective. Witness what happened to RV after he hired Aldon Baker. He was winning before but he didn't look or ride anything like he does now.
I'm guessing Tomac's first training program was designed by his Dad, and while John was a great bicycle racer (he rode for 7-11 in Europe too) I'm betting the initial program wasn't quite right for MX. Our sport has had a lot less science and coaching then most other sports and the riders, even though they are on a team, largely train individually and I think this makes the training suffer.
I think it was heat 1 of the 250s, or whatever one Wilson was not in, but not a single Kawasaki advanced to the main from it. I would think that hasn't happened for a while.
I am a big fan of Eli, just as I was a big fan of his dad in his MTB racing days. Both are very laid back, honest, and polite. Not to mention hard working.
The talk of Eli racing 450s during the East is interesting. I think it is good for his development, but at the same time it would be horrible to have him injured and lose out on the 250 title. Come outdoors, I think he will be racing 250s again and Barcia will get Canard's spot on the 450 since he rode very well last year on it.
Finally, I think Wilson is a much better outdoor rider than he is indoors. His style seems to work better on the faster tracks but when it is slower and technical he struggles with consistency.