VOL. 50 ISSUE 50 DECEMBER 17, 2013
Tomac says
that he's
toughened up
since his early
years as a pro.
THE
BOOK OF
Eli
THROUGH THE UPS AND DOWNS IN
HIS PRO CAREER, ELI TOMAC SHOWS
THE VALUE OF PERSEVERANCE
P141
STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE COX
E
li Tomac has been in the public eye for most of his life. As a
youngster, he was legendary
mountain-bike champ John Tomac's
kid. As his own motocross-racing career got going in the amateurs, well,
he was still John Tomac's kid. But as
a pro racing for the GEICO Honda
team, he has stepped out from under his father's long shadow and
has managed to push through some
pretty tough times to become one of
the sport's fastest and most intimidating athletes.
Quiet and unassuming, Tomac
has always let his racing do the talking for him. However, that doesn't
mean he has nothing to say. If you're
lucky enough to give him your ear
for a few minutes, it doesn't take
long before you realize that his reserved nature is in no way a reflection of what's going on inside his
head. Tomac is a thinker.
>>WHO IS ELI TOMAC?
Eli Tomac is a lot of things, but more
than anything, Eli Tomac is a competitor. And when you're as competitive as Eli Tomac is, it's pretty easy
for people to get the wrong idea
about you.
"I guess a lot of people probably
see me as being more of a quiet
guy, and I'm not great at the socialmedia stuff," Tomac says. "But
when I'm around my normal friends,
and around family, I'm a little bit different. That's probably kind of normal for anyone."
