P104
CN
III OBSERVATION CHECK
BY KIT PALMER
I
t's not often when someone
wins their first championship
of any kind that the first words
he or she uses to describe their
feeling of accomplishment is
"relief." Usually, you hear how
excited they are, or how thrilled
they are, or how they can't
believe it actually happened,
that it's something they've been
dreaming about ever since they
saw their first race as child.
I suppose there is always
a slight sense of relief after
realizing your goal has been
achieved, but you usually don't
say it. That would almost make it
sound like you didn't have con-
fidence in yourself. But I'm sure
everyone who wins a champion-
ship is relieved to some point;
after all, most championships
are the end result of months,
years or even a lifetime commit-
ment to something they want
really, really badly. But when Eli
Tomac described winning his
first Supercross Championship
as a relief, he absolutely meant
it. He was, indeed, relieved,
more so than being just excited
or thrilled.
Maybe it's because he's been
excited and thrilled many times
before throughout his racing
career and he's used to those
emotions. Prior to the 2020
Supercross season, Tomac had
already accumulated five ma-
RELIEF!
A more relaxed
and confident
Eli Tomac could
mean trouble for
his competitors
for the rest of
Tomac's racing
career. PHOTO:
MONSTER MEDIA
