Cycle News

VOLUME 57 ISSUE 28 JULY 14, 2020 P105 jor AMA Championships: one 250SX West Championship, one 250MX Championship and three 450MX Championships, but the one he wanted most, the 450SX Championship, kept eluding him. No one ever doubted he had the talent to win one, but he just could never put it all together for an entire Supercross season. And when he turned 27 last November, he admitted he be- gan to doubt himself and that's never a good thing, because he knew that no one in the sport's history had ever won their first 450SX title at his age. I believe the oldest first-time Supercross Championship winner before Tomac was Jeff Emig, who was 26 when he won his first Super- cross title in 1997. Tomac had other things on his mind besides just winning his first SX title, because he knew there were many others out there who wanted it just as much as he did. When you look at the talent pool in Supercross these days, it's pretty deep. If Tomac was going to win the title in 2020, he knew he'd have to first ride through defending champ Cooper Webb, and guys like his own teammate Adam Cian- ciarulo, and veteran racers Ken Roczen, Jason Anderson and Justin Barcia. And if he didn't get it done this year, he knew win- ning the championship wouldn't be getting any easier. He'd have to take on a batch of new, young and hungry riders coming up in 2021, guys like Chase Sex- ton and Dylan Ferrandis. Plus, 450SX rookies in 2020 Cian- ciarulo and Osborne would be another year wiser and no doubt faster. For 2020, it really was be- ginning to look like it was going to be now or never thing. So, when Tomac hardly threw a whip over the finishing line jump at the final round when he officially wrapped up his first Su- percross title and casually lifted his bike onto the stand after- ward, you could easily sense his relief even through the lens of the TV camera, since that's the only way most of us got to see it, since just a few people were ac- tually allowed inside the stadium to witness Tomac's champion- ship because of the pandemic- induced empty stands. Yes, you could still feel his relief, and I'm sure we all felt a little relieved, too. After all, Tomac's racing legend would've been some- what tarnished if he had to retire without ever winning a 450SX title, and I don't think any true supercross fan, or even, say, a Roczen fan, would really want to see that happen either, not after all the amazing things Tomac has given us in both Supercross and motocross over the years, all those jaw-dropping come-from- behind wins and all of those 250 and 450MX titles. And, of course, Tomac is just a good guy and a person you want to see good things happen to. Many racers will say that winning your first championship is hard but the second is even harder. I'm sure it is (I'll take their word for it because I certainly wouldn't know), but I think when it comes to Tomac next year, I wouldn't be surprised at all if he goes out and wins it again. Yes, he'll still have the normal pres- sures of having to win the title for a second time, but that always comes with wearing the number- one plate. However, not having the added pressure to win your first Supercross title so late in your career anymore should bode well Tomac. Plus, he's already locked in with his current Monster Energy Kawasaki Team through the 2022 season, so a much relaxed and confident Tomac is going to be bad news for his competition going into the 2021 Supercross season. And he's already shown that he can handle wearing that boat anchor of a number on his motorcycle's plates quite well, at least with motocross. He'll be going for his fourth straight 450MX outdoor title when the season gets started, I hope, next month. So, if there is anyone who can wear the number-one plate with confidence and a clear head, it's Tomac. I certainly don't think we've heard the last of ET. CN

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