Cycle News

VOL. 52 ISSUE 2 JANUARY 13, 2015 P59 year, but I was getting beat straight up by the best riders in the world. I don't know what to say, just the way it happened." It was the kind of win that every rider hopes for— pass your opponent and then put them away. "I couldn't be happier with the way this win turned out," said Tomac. "We went back and forth several times and I finally got in the front. I made a little bit of a push and got a gap and then just set- tled in. But after that battle I think both of us were a little bit tight and a little bit gassed out." After following Roczen for a lap or two, Tomac knew early on he could win the race. "I was staying right there with Kenny, so I knew he wasn't run- ning away from me and I was running a comfortable pace," said Tomac. "There were spots I was making big time, so I thought I could make it hap- pen. I got close enough, I didn't want to wait around, because in our class, third or fourth could be closing in on you, too. So we were having our little scrap and, honestly, I thought some- one was going to get close so I made a move. "I had a couple spots where I was gaining ground on him, so I thought if I could get around him, I would make a good push and hopefully get out to a little bit of a gap," said Tomac. "But it was a gnarly race, it was tough at the end of that 20." Tomac made up most of his time near the end of each lap. "The best part for me was right before the finish line. I was doing a little triple, then we went over the Dragon Back and I would get some momentum on him," said Tomac. "We both passed each other in that corner two or three times, and then down into the 180 after the start, and that was where I finally made it stick." For almost all of the riders, this year's Phoenix course was better than year's past—at least it was tacky instead of hard-packed and dry, but still it was tight and hard to pass on, and late in the race it got slippery in places. "The track was technical and when you're at home on the practice track, it's like 20 laps is no big deal now, but when you're out here on this track, racing guys back and forth, and the way this track was—tight and a little bumpy and even the whoops section was even techni- cal—[it's tough]." Even though the two riders had a fierce battle early in the race, it was clean racing for the most part. "Me and Kenny have respect for each other, and I think we both even have the same mind- set. We look to the future and not just this one race," said Tomac. The win was a big turnaround from what happened the week be- fore, when Tomac crashed twice in the main and ended up 20th. "In comparison with last week, I was fastest in practice at A1, and today I was barely fastest," said Tomac. "We were close again, but it was just a mistake on the track at Anaheim that was the dif- ference; I went over the bars, it was just a mistake on the track. Lucky for me, I didn't really bang my- self up too much, I had a sore calf but nothing that would hinder my performance here." When asked if his Phoenix win made the Ana- heim fiasco even tougher to take, Tomac said the long season will take care of itself. "Just the way it happened, it's something I can't really believe happened, but it did happen, so I can't really dwell on it," said Tomac. "It's such a big hole that it's not worth worrying about, considering how long the series is." CN "ME AND KENNY HAVE RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER, AND I THINK WE BOTH EVEN HAVE THE SAME MINDSET. WE LOOK TO THE FUTURE AND NOT JUST THIS ONE RACE."

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