Monster Energy Cup - The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

​Welcome to the Monster Energy Cup edition of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. Let's jump right into it. 

The Good: Eli Tomac | 1st Overall in the Cup Class

The Monster Energy Cup is not typically a full blown Supercross track, but this year it was closer to a traditional Supercross track than in the past. There was a pretty technical rhythm section, a small whoop/roller section leading into a rhythm section, and a fairly difficult (although the riders made it look easy) sand roller section. Anyway, the point is that Eli looked much better than he did during the 2016 Supercross season. In fact, it looked like he's back to the same form he was in 2015 as far as riding style and being comfortable on the bike is concerned. He also looked very fast, especially during the final main event of the night. Had that race been 15 laps instead of 10, I think he would have won pretty easily. I wouldn't suggest jumping onto the Eli Train just yet, though, as Roczen had a faster pace for most of the day until his crash during the second main event. We're going to be in for quite the treat when these two do battle during the 2017 Supercross season.

The Good Bonus: Cameron Mcadoo | 1st Overall in the Amateur All-Stars Class

This dude may not have won any purse money, but at least he won a new truck! That's actually a really cool holeshot prize for the amateur class, and I gotta give props to Toyota for putting something up for the amateurs. Anyway, not only did Cameron win a truck, but he won the overall! He was definitely the underdog coming in, and I'm sure he was super pumped to snag the win. Now he has to prepare for the Arenacross season (where he will earn his Road to Supercross points), and then he has to prepare for the East Coast 250 Championship. As far as I know he'll be on the MotoConcepts team for his first year as a pro, and I'm looking forward to seeing what kind of damage he can do in 2017. 

The Bad: Several Top Riders Not in Attendance

Cooper Webb, Justin Barcia, Broc Tickle, Jason Anderson, Justin Bogle, Jake Weimer, Dean Wilson, Trey Canard, Davi Millsaps, Josh Grant, and several others were missing when the first main event gate dropped at the Monster Energy Cup. Some of them missed the event due to not having a contract, injuries, lack of time on their new bike, or other reasons that we are not privy to. Now I'm not getting onto them for not being at the race, as I'm sure they would have raced if they could have, but the racing definitely wasn't as great as it could have been if even half of these guys were present. It was pretty much a four horse race for the majority of the night, and it was only a three horse race for the final race (which was by far the best out of the three). On the bright side, we should have everyone that I listed on the gate at Anaheim 1. 

The Bad Bonus: Ken Roczen's Crash

Ken's crash during the second main event could have been pretty bad, but luckily he didn't sustain any major injuries and was able to race the final race. Unfortunately, he did lose a chance at the Monster Million when he went over the bars of his Honda. At this rate, we may never see another rider claim the million dollar paycheck from Monster. If you happened to miss the crash, you can watch it here. 

The Ugly: An Assortment of Amateur All-Stars Crashes

Anyone who is against having an amateur class at a professional Supercross event probably had a field day during last night's broadcast. There was several big crashes in both main events, but the second main event had some pretty brutal crashes. Mitchell Falk went absolutely flying when he got thrown off of his bike heading into the first turn, and Tallon Lafountaine landed on his shoulder pretty freaking hard and was then run over by another rider. Both guys seemed alright when they showed them on the broadcast later in the race, but it was still pretty rough to watch. I don't think they'll make any changes to the class though, and I hope they don't because the young guys typically provide us with the best racing of the night. 

Photos by Steve Giberson
Words by Grant Dawson

0 comments

The Latest