Will we ever see another RC?

2/5/2023 5:07am
The difference between Ricky and these guys is Ricky raced whatever he had as hard as he could. He put in the work with fitness, training...

The difference between Ricky and these guys is Ricky raced whatever he had as hard as he could. He put in the work with fitness, training AND bike prep.I remember him doing vo2 max tests, 1000 weightless squats/day etc. The one who reminds me most of RC currently is Webb. No excuses , gritty and tries to improve each week...difference...I don't think Webb tests the bike enough.

CPR wrote:

I was totally with you until the Webb comparison; have we forgotten last year already? Best off season ever, blaming the bike etc. 

Not exactly what I meant. I see Webb as having the desire but his bike setup and natural ability will never let hime get there. Last night for example...the track was not in Eli or Webb's favor...Eli did something about it...Webb couldn't.

Tumic
Posts
2778
Joined
11/27/2012
Location
Sundsvall SE
2/5/2023 12:03pm

Don’t know where i stand in the whole ”other like RC” thing.

MC had un-matched talent like nobody at the time that helped him stack up his wins. Then came RC, and started training to make up for the lack of talent compared to MC.

RC became the norm on how to train, and now all the factory riders have the same fitness that RC had then, making it harder for anyone to stand out in the same way.

The next thing is how brunt out RC and RV got, how can it be a bad thing that current riders looks happy doing what they do and extending their carrers instead of finnish in their mid 20’s? 
 

I love that we can see Roczen and Tomac share a flight and riders being happy even if they finnish second, that shows that they love the sport more than just winning.

Echo
Posts
326
Joined
12/27/2022
Location
London GB
2/5/2023 12:11pm

The whole thing with RC was that he worked way harder than everyone else and had an honestly sick in the head mentality for winning. He changed the sport forever. I don’t see how there can be a new RC because how can a guy elevate himself with the work that EVERYONE does now because of RC himself. The RV thing 11-14 was like a mini RC moment but he was very touchable outdoors, although you can say he didn’t get enough tries at it

1
wreckitrandy
Posts
4204
Joined
8/16/2006
Location
Granite Falls, NC US
2/6/2023 5:19pm
Echo wrote:
The whole thing with RC was that he worked way harder than everyone else and had an honestly sick in the head mentality for winning. He...

The whole thing with RC was that he worked way harder than everyone else and had an honestly sick in the head mentality for winning. He changed the sport forever. I don’t see how there can be a new RC because how can a guy elevate himself with the work that EVERYONE does now because of RC himself. The RV thing 11-14 was like a mini RC moment but he was very touchable outdoors, although you can say he didn’t get enough tries at it

What was it that Aldon said on Pulp recently? 'Nobody today is doing work like RC.'??? Paraphrased. Something close to that.

The Shop

2/6/2023 6:19pm

The 450 field this year has 14 former lites SX champions in it plus AC, Savatgy, and Justin Cooper.  So out of 22 riders lining up on any given night, 14 (15 if we could include MM25) of them have at least 1 lites title to their name, with many of them having multiple lites championships.  There are 3 riders with 450 SX championships racing.  This same group of riders has multiple 450 MX champs in it and countless 250 MX champs.  The current talent pool in the 450 class is insane IMHO.

 

RC was super talented but really separated himself with the sheer will to win, and the fitness hard work to dominate when it wasn't as common to train this hard.  I don't know how many other lites title winners and 250/450 champs he had to compete against, but I don't think the field was this deep when he raced (correct me if I'm wrong).  Yes, there were plenty of other good riders and I'm not saying he didn't have quality competition.  I'm just saying that the field then was not as diverse and as high quality across the board as there is today.   Shoot, anybody that makes a 450 main these days is a badass mofo looking at who is lining up.  

 

This isn't meant to discredit or say either RC or any rider in the current field is better or worse than the other.  The point is, with a deeper field of riders, its harder to stack up wins like RC was able to do in his day and age.  With everyone training the same and talent everywhere, wins are really hard to come by.  To me, that makes Tomac pretty damn special.  He likely gets to #2 all time this season.

1
deanwhite51
Posts
2665
Joined
10/5/2017
Location
Sydney AU
2/6/2023 6:39pm

he retired at what 26,27?

people aren't going to the 450's until they are mid-late 20's now.

 

1
RaceFace232
Posts
259
Joined
8/6/2021
Location
Northampton, MA US
2/6/2023 6:48pm
Echo wrote:
The whole thing with RC was that he worked way harder than everyone else and had an honestly sick in the head mentality for winning. He...

The whole thing with RC was that he worked way harder than everyone else and had an honestly sick in the head mentality for winning. He changed the sport forever. I don’t see how there can be a new RC because how can a guy elevate himself with the work that EVERYONE does now because of RC himself. The RV thing 11-14 was like a mini RC moment but he was very touchable outdoors, although you can say he didn’t get enough tries at it

What was it that Aldon said on Pulp recently? 'Nobody today is doing work like RC.'??? Paraphrased. Something close to that.

I agree that very few now or since train to the level RC did.  It’s funny though that people say no one trained before RC.  First I think O’Mara had a lot to do with RC’s training early on as his mentor.  O’Mara, Bailey, Ward, Stanton, Hannah and many more trained like maniacs too.

deanwhite51
Posts
2665
Joined
10/5/2017
Location
Sydney AU
2/6/2023 6:51pm
TbonesPop wrote:
The 450 field this year has 14 former lites SX champions in it plus AC, Savatgy, and Justin Cooper.  So out of 22 riders lining up...

The 450 field this year has 14 former lites SX champions in it plus AC, Savatgy, and Justin Cooper.  So out of 22 riders lining up on any given night, 14 (15 if we could include MM25) of them have at least 1 lites title to their name, with many of them having multiple lites championships.  There are 3 riders with 450 SX championships racing.  This same group of riders has multiple 450 MX champs in it and countless 250 MX champs.  The current talent pool in the 450 class is insane IMHO.

 

RC was super talented but really separated himself with the sheer will to win, and the fitness hard work to dominate when it wasn't as common to train this hard.  I don't know how many other lites title winners and 250/450 champs he had to compete against, but I don't think the field was this deep when he raced (correct me if I'm wrong).  Yes, there were plenty of other good riders and I'm not saying he didn't have quality competition.  I'm just saying that the field then was not as diverse and as high quality across the board as there is today.   Shoot, anybody that makes a 450 main these days is a badass mofo looking at who is lining up.  

 

This isn't meant to discredit or say either RC or any rider in the current field is better or worse than the other.  The point is, with a deeper field of riders, its harder to stack up wins like RC was able to do in his day and age.  With everyone training the same and talent everywhere, wins are really hard to come by.  To me, that makes Tomac pretty damn special.  He likely gets to #2 all time this season.

And there was a deep field back then.. we just don't view it as much because of how much faster the top 3 where back then. 

- Byrner

- Ferry

- Kdub

- Tedesco 

- DV12

- Voss

- Wey

- Preston

- Short

- Millsaps

- Sorby

- Langston

- Sellards

- Larocco

- Tortelli

- Fonseca

- Mike Brown

- Josh Hill

- P.Carpenter

All great riders who might of won racers, Podium more or could of been considered championship contenders if it wasn't for the RC,CR & JS7 era.. Its wild

What's even crazier is them 3 guys are all in the top 5 for SX win records while racing each other.

 

2
RaceFace232
Posts
259
Joined
8/6/2021
Location
Northampton, MA US
2/6/2023 6:53pm
TbonesPop wrote:
The 450 field this year has 14 former lites SX champions in it plus AC, Savatgy, and Justin Cooper.  So out of 22 riders lining up...

The 450 field this year has 14 former lites SX champions in it plus AC, Savatgy, and Justin Cooper.  So out of 22 riders lining up on any given night, 14 (15 if we could include MM25) of them have at least 1 lites title to their name, with many of them having multiple lites championships.  There are 3 riders with 450 SX championships racing.  This same group of riders has multiple 450 MX champs in it and countless 250 MX champs.  The current talent pool in the 450 class is insane IMHO.

 

RC was super talented but really separated himself with the sheer will to win, and the fitness hard work to dominate when it wasn't as common to train this hard.  I don't know how many other lites title winners and 250/450 champs he had to compete against, but I don't think the field was this deep when he raced (correct me if I'm wrong).  Yes, there were plenty of other good riders and I'm not saying he didn't have quality competition.  I'm just saying that the field then was not as diverse and as high quality across the board as there is today.   Shoot, anybody that makes a 450 main these days is a badass mofo looking at who is lining up.  

 

This isn't meant to discredit or say either RC or any rider in the current field is better or worse than the other.  The point is, with a deeper field of riders, its harder to stack up wins like RC was able to do in his day and age.  With everyone training the same and talent everywhere, wins are really hard to come by.  To me, that makes Tomac pretty damn special.  He likely gets to #2 all time this season.

And there was a deep field back then.. we just don't view it as much because of how much faster the top 3 where back then. ...

And there was a deep field back then.. we just don't view it as much because of how much faster the top 3 where back then. 

- Byrner

- Ferry

- Kdub

- Tedesco 

- DV12

- Voss

- Wey

- Preston

- Short

- Millsaps

- Sorby

- Langston

- Sellards

- Larocco

- Tortelli

- Fonseca

- Mike Brown

- Josh Hill

- P.Carpenter

All great riders who might of won racers, Podium more or could of been considered championship contenders if it wasn't for the RC,CR & JS7 era.. Its wild

What's even crazier is them 3 guys are all in the top 5 for SX win records while racing each other.

 

Right?  Add up the amount if guys on that list with at least 1 Lites title

1
deanwhite51
Posts
2665
Joined
10/5/2017
Location
Sydney AU
2/6/2023 7:03pm
TbonesPop wrote:
The 450 field this year has 14 former lites SX champions in it plus AC, Savatgy, and Justin Cooper.  So out of 22 riders lining up...

The 450 field this year has 14 former lites SX champions in it plus AC, Savatgy, and Justin Cooper.  So out of 22 riders lining up on any given night, 14 (15 if we could include MM25) of them have at least 1 lites title to their name, with many of them having multiple lites championships.  There are 3 riders with 450 SX championships racing.  This same group of riders has multiple 450 MX champs in it and countless 250 MX champs.  The current talent pool in the 450 class is insane IMHO.

 

RC was super talented but really separated himself with the sheer will to win, and the fitness hard work to dominate when it wasn't as common to train this hard.  I don't know how many other lites title winners and 250/450 champs he had to compete against, but I don't think the field was this deep when he raced (correct me if I'm wrong).  Yes, there were plenty of other good riders and I'm not saying he didn't have quality competition.  I'm just saying that the field then was not as diverse and as high quality across the board as there is today.   Shoot, anybody that makes a 450 main these days is a badass mofo looking at who is lining up.  

 

This isn't meant to discredit or say either RC or any rider in the current field is better or worse than the other.  The point is, with a deeper field of riders, its harder to stack up wins like RC was able to do in his day and age.  With everyone training the same and talent everywhere, wins are really hard to come by.  To me, that makes Tomac pretty damn special.  He likely gets to #2 all time this season.

And there was a deep field back then.. we just don't view it as much because of how much faster the top 3 where back then. ...

And there was a deep field back then.. we just don't view it as much because of how much faster the top 3 where back then. 

- Byrner

- Ferry

- Kdub

- Tedesco 

- DV12

- Voss

- Wey

- Preston

- Short

- Millsaps

- Sorby

- Langston

- Sellards

- Larocco

- Tortelli

- Fonseca

- Mike Brown

- Josh Hill

- P.Carpenter

All great riders who might of won racers, Podium more or could of been considered championship contenders if it wasn't for the RC,CR & JS7 era.. Its wild

What's even crazier is them 3 guys are all in the top 5 for SX win records while racing each other.

 

Right?  Add up the amount if guys on that list with at least 1 Lites title

I understand what your getting at. But again.. how do you win a lites title when you had RC, Reed and Stew in the 125 class as your comp.

a lot of them riders had race wins. but dam.. that whole decade there was only 3 riders who got tv time.

And riders moved up a lot earlier than they do now.

125 class was a stepping stone then.. riders raced it to get that premier 250 ride

1
2/6/2023 7:30pm
I don't recall RC ever refusing an interview after a loss. The few times he lost, he would always say something like, 'I didn't have anything...

I don't recall RC ever refusing an interview after a loss. The few times he lost, he would always say something like, 'I didn't have anything for him. I'm gonna go home this week and work harder.' That was code for, 'next weekend, I'm gonna put my foot on their throat.' 

The answer to your initial question though, is no. 10 straight outdoor titles will never be equalled. Quite possibly the most dominant stretch of athletic endeavor ever seen. 

I know he did at least once, maybe twice shit himself during the race and just rode straight back to the semi. Haha classic.

jonesaustin
Posts
2647
Joined
7/6/2009
Location
Austin, TX US
2/7/2023 5:36am Edited Date/Time 2/7/2023 5:39am

Jeremy McGrath created the Carmichael we know like his own Frankenstein monster. Had it not been for McGrath, Ricky wouldn’t have had to push “that” hard to surpass all predicted efforts to unseat him; two full premier seasons later, I might add. 

Without this context, it’s impossible to grasp why there will never be another Carmichael. This was a hurricane of circumstances that came together - the greatest amateur has to unseat the eventual 7 time SX champion and change the course of the sport’s training in the process.

That circumstance won’t happen again, because you won’t have a rider like McGrath who is so dominant it takes a paradigm shift by the fastest amateur to topple him. 
 

2/7/2023 5:41am

Yeah, just go to your local 5th grade classroom, and you’ll find several kids with a better understanding of the English language.  

1
jonesaustin
Posts
2647
Joined
7/6/2009
Location
Austin, TX US
2/7/2023 7:26am

Yeah, just go to your local 5th grade classroom, and you’ll find several kids with a better understanding of the English language.  

Hope you’re right. Still, the point is valid.

2/7/2023 8:04am
TbonesPop wrote:
The 450 field this year has 14 former lites SX champions in it plus AC, Savatgy, and Justin Cooper.  So out of 22 riders lining up...

The 450 field this year has 14 former lites SX champions in it plus AC, Savatgy, and Justin Cooper.  So out of 22 riders lining up on any given night, 14 (15 if we could include MM25) of them have at least 1 lites title to their name, with many of them having multiple lites championships.  There are 3 riders with 450 SX championships racing.  This same group of riders has multiple 450 MX champs in it and countless 250 MX champs.  The current talent pool in the 450 class is insane IMHO.

 

RC was super talented but really separated himself with the sheer will to win, and the fitness hard work to dominate when it wasn't as common to train this hard.  I don't know how many other lites title winners and 250/450 champs he had to compete against, but I don't think the field was this deep when he raced (correct me if I'm wrong).  Yes, there were plenty of other good riders and I'm not saying he didn't have quality competition.  I'm just saying that the field then was not as diverse and as high quality across the board as there is today.   Shoot, anybody that makes a 450 main these days is a badass mofo looking at who is lining up.  

 

This isn't meant to discredit or say either RC or any rider in the current field is better or worse than the other.  The point is, with a deeper field of riders, its harder to stack up wins like RC was able to do in his day and age.  With everyone training the same and talent everywhere, wins are really hard to come by.  To me, that makes Tomac pretty damn special.  He likely gets to #2 all time this season.

And there was a deep field back then.. we just don't view it as much because of how much faster the top 3 where back then. ...

And there was a deep field back then.. we just don't view it as much because of how much faster the top 3 where back then. 

- Byrner

- Ferry

- Kdub

- Tedesco 

- DV12

- Voss

- Wey

- Preston

- Short

- Millsaps

- Sorby

- Langston

- Sellards

- Larocco

- Tortelli

- Fonseca

- Mike Brown

- Josh Hill

- P.Carpenter

All great riders who might of won racers, Podium more or could of been considered championship contenders if it wasn't for the RC,CR & JS7 era.. Its wild

What's even crazier is them 3 guys are all in the top 5 for SX win records while racing each other.

 

Its really too bad about Fonseca. Dude was starting to figure out the 450 and then got paralyzed. But out of this list. Removed the 3 legends and its now between DV12, KW14, & DM18.

2/7/2023 8:21am

Pretty sure Tomac is the closest we'll get for the forseeable future until he decides to hang it up. Then it will be Sexton's time. But a Carmichael wouldn't have let Tomac win in Houston after being 1 sec faster every lap. And he most definitely would have followed Tomac thru the sand to try and beat him in his own fast line. A legend changes his line and makes it faster.

Post a reply to: Will we ever see another RC?

The Latest