We know age and time are not in Eli's favor and he claims this is his final year. I originally expected him to kind of mail it in for the final year and give it a good go but walk away happy regardless of results due to his podium interview at the final round of SMX. After Jett beat him, Eli said something along the lines of "I'm happy because I gave it my best". I thought that was an odd thing to say rather than the usual, I will now go back and train harder or we have to figure some things out etc.. But he has a family, and success and his health so giving it his best and being healthy is understandable.
However, after seeing him visibly distraught after Des Nations and hearing his disappointment during post interviews, I wonder if he is back at the ranch training like a mad scientist hidden away in the basement with vengeance on his mind. Does his mind set change from " I gave it my best" to "No one will pass me and walk away from me again, sorry to everyone else lining up to race because I refuse to lose anymore." Is he hammering out 100 mile bike sprints up the mountains followed by 10 full motos a day with his dad water boarding him if he isn't faster than the prior days motos. (It's a joke)
What do you all think? Was a switch flipped? What will we see out of Tomac in 2025?
I do think so yes. He knows this is his last year. The bike is solid. I am putting him as the #2 title threat behind Jett for SX.
Here we go with the shit again.
How dare people discuss motocross on this forum.
I agree. I was also pleased to see him be so consistent over the SMX rounds too. No weirdo rides.
He's my title pick for 2025.
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I don’t see anyone beating Jett at the moment. The guard has changed.
I hope that he rides at his best and is able to do what so few have done, and go out at the top. I like his clean style of racing and have been a fan of his . As I get older I have started to be a fan of all the riders though. And find something I like in just about all of them.
I could see Tomac coming out and riding better than he ever has to close out his time racing. He seems to ride better when hes under less pressure. Maybe its just a lack of external pressure. Like when he moved to a new team and was not expected to be as good as he was. Or the constant last minute extensions of his contract. So he was under less pressure from the team and fans. Maybe he uses the lack of pressure as motivation ? But I could see Eli go out and battle for the title , win half the races. Or go out and win a race or 2 and finish it out in 5th place.
He seems like the kind of rider that enjoys the work he has to put in to be at the top. So I expect him to be in as good of shape as ever. And I think he will be the same Tomac we have seen over the years. Its hard to know if he's winning, or just a top 5 guy. In my opinion even a relaxed, not caring about the results Eli would be top 5 or he wouldn't bother showing up. Even if he's just doing a farewell tour ,I expect it to look more like RC's last season than a lot of other riders who have done the good bye season.
I look forward to the season. Its nice to have so many guys that could and have won. And most of them having very clean racing styles , that has resulted in very close racing and even closer finishes.
Nah. I've never seen a more clear changing of the guard than him not wrapping up a sure title due to injury. Then the young bull stepping in and going undefeated.
It was a hell of a run.
I'm guessing you weren't around for RC and MC then?
If Jett is 100%, nobody is beating him for the title, but Tomac is going to be second behind him the majority of the time. Just look at SMX.
Eli on the Geico Honda was peak beast Eli.
For Eli to beat Jett in '25 he will need to find some speed. Not a lot, but some.
Tomac will be good but I don’t see how anyone watching would pick him for the title, without injuries to the top of the field.
It’s plainly apparent that Jett has better technique, goes faster with less effort and has more in the tank then Eli at this point.
Eli has been one of my favorite riders to watch, he’s a racers racer. But time waits for no man and at 32 he just doesn’t have the edge he did in his 20’s on the rest of the field.
If Tomac gets through SX without an injury it will be a battle between him Jett and Chase outdoors. I don’t think it comes as easy for Jett as people are thinking if Tomac and Chase are healthy.
I want to believe this too, I'm a Tomac guy...but I just don't see it this way.
I'm a big Tomac fan, and would love to see him win it. But... 1 big strength Jett has, is his whoops speed. It's insane. Eli can probably match him everywhere else, but I don't think anyone can touch him in the whoops, and that might be the deciding factor.
Come outdoors, Eli might have a better shot. At MXdN, he showed he's still got pace, and that was his 3rd race in 2 years, and on that new bike. If he stays healthy, and gets his testing in place, we might truly see a battle of titans.
I look at Mxdn differently. He had the lead and in the past when he’s had 8+ seconds on the guys in 2nd and 3rd he doesn’t get caught. Maybe it was fitness related but I’m not convinced.
No.
I think that's lack of race fitness. Again, 3 outdoor races in 3 years, he's got the speed, but not the fitness to sustain it, like he used to. Could be wrong, but that my thoughts. He also barely raced this summer. Going into outdoors from SX, he'll be better.
It might be. We’ve just never seen someone at 32 years old be at the sharpest end of the spear in this sport. Jett is just a better athlete at this time. So even if his fitness comes back, Jett is only getting better and faster. Eli can improve but I don’t think he can close the gap.
I'm feeling this will go the same way Webb is discounted every season. Does anyone seriously think Tomac won't be a contender? He's running the off-season races and seems really motivated to make up for lost time due to injury.
Pit Row
Its interesting to think about how many guys on Honda's have had very strong starts to a season. Dominating and winning multiple races in a row.
RC pretty much every MX series on Honda, Tomac outdoors on the Geico Honda , Roczen 2017 SX , Jett 2023 and 24 Outdoors. They all have had amazing starts to series and looked like they could, or did go undefeated for the series . Eli and Kenny ended up getting injured and not finishing out the series but were untouchable until they got injured .
I think that if everybody avoids getting injured, Jett is the guy to beat this year. But Eli has surprised us all before.
I do think Jett will be the guy barring injury obviously but the fight for 2nd place will be insane. Tomac, Sexton, Hunter and Webb (Prado instead of Webb for outdoors), it's so unclear to me who could be the best out of this group next year.
If Tomac gets back to his 2022 form though and I think he will then I expect him to give Jett a harder fight in SX in some races than any other rider so far.
The most important question though.. How much risk is Eli able to take in his last year? I don't really see him pushing over his own limits anymore, altough he can probably still beat everyone on his best days.
I would love to see Tomac beat Jett heads up a few times but expecting more would be a long shot. If the two were out front after every first turn I think Eli has a chance for the championship. But we all know Eli is going to have some bad starts and Jett is going to be there every time. That’s that.
I expect to see the smartest Eli we’ve ever seen.
He showed amazing speed and “long game” smarts at MXON. I really, really enjoyed that.
I dunno man. He wanted that 3rd moto bad and Eli from 2021-2022 doesn’t give up that lead. When Eli was at his peak he doesn’t get run down.
There will be days next year when Tomac will be the fastest, fittest rider on the track by far. Will there be enough of them to win a title? I'm not so sure.
Peak Beast?
2022 Outdoors
Barring injury to sexton and Jett I think his days of being the fittest and fastest are gone. Jett and sexton and physical freaks.
People forget Jett was coming off injury into smx and mxdn and he jumped right back into being the guy to beat.
Eli on the Honda outdoors was some of the most dominant riding we’ve ever seen. That season looked to be insane until his crash.
Been a Tomac fan since he shocked the moto world at Hangtown his rookie year. I am also a big Jett fan, and I believe he’s simply riding at a different level than everyone else.
That said, the way Eli looked on the MXoN podium, and the way he talked on Pulp afterwards impressed the hell outta me. He wants more. And at his level, it’s all about the will to win.
Some of y’all forgot how he handled Chase Sexton’s speed and strength in 2022. Tomac wasn’t always fastest qualifier, but he was fast enough to be there when Chase choked. I think Tomac will be a serious contender in ‘25.
For how long will the Tomac fans move the time line to suit their hopes?.
Last fall we heard that Jett would meet beast mode Eli during SX, then Jett blew Elis doors off at SX. When they came back at SMX Jett hunted Eli down, passed him and gapped him when Eli had the lead. And at MXdN Jett caught, passed and gapped Eli with a large margin.
And now it’s the 25sx season that Eli will challenge Jett?. I have seen enough to make up my mind that Eli won’t have anything for Jett in terms of speed over a season and the only way Eli becomes a title contender is if Jett gets hurt, not by Eli’s own speed.
And to Snillum, does Eli strike you as a rider that don’t train as hard as he can? It’s not like he has trained at a 70% rate through out of his pro years and now all of a sudden he will turn it up to 100%. Eli is like RC when it comes to training and leave nothing at the table, and i guess that is a frustrating spot to be in for Eli now realizing that his current 100% is not enough any more.
Calm down . Jett is the best . Feel better ?
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