The Level..

RV still runs up front and battles for wins

cream always rises to the top 

So who is the cream out of :

- Current Jett

- Prime Villopoto

- Prime Dungey

Dungey got 6th at the age of 33 after taking 4 seasons off in 22 when chase and Eli battled all summer. AP and barcia were 7 and 8 that year. If the level has progressed in some way I'm sure that past champions would benefit from the same progression and still be contenders today. Jett is an alien. Not sure the field after that has much over any other generation. 

I don’t think Dungey would beat Jett. RV is hard to say I mean every full season he raced he won the championship other than one early SX 2nd to Canard. I am a firm believer the talent has constantly risen over the years in every single sport. Given that Id say it’s a safe assumption that no past rider could beat Jett in a championship. He’s incredible

The top guys would all be battling for wins right now. They were great for a reason. Stamp it.

They all battle for wins, and all can pull extra speed out of nowhere. 

My only hesitation is that every generation gets better and learns from the last. So I'm taking Jett purely because over a season, I'm picking him to make the least mistakes and most consistent starts. 

 

People said the same thing about McGrath when he was out there racing Lusk, LaRocco and Larry Ward. Those guys were great but there is always one superstar that rises above. You can't even compare era to era-- things are just too different.

Bring any of your favorites Jett is beating them - and if any of you asked your favorite rider they would say the same thing. If you cant tell the difference between Jett and the others then that's okay but you don't know the technique side of things. RV himself already said Jett is the greatest, RC on the latest Title24 also says Jett is "likely the best guy ever" when discussing Tomac's problems and how will he beat Jett. So you can be upset at my message but you could also just listen to them in their own words say the same thing??

Jett. Personally I think prime rv is battling with prime Eli (except 2015 Eli) & Jett is a step above with speed, starts & consistency - there is no chink in his armour, and he does it all being so happy/goofy. It’s unreal. 

Its impossible to compare eras. '13 RV is my favorite version of an mx rider ever. Just nasty and aggressive, abusing the track. I put him up against anyone. But, at the same time, my rational brain says the top level has to have progressed in 13yrs. You do try to find things through the years to help you compare. Like RV and James spanking Reed by 30-45 sec every damn race. Then Reed giving the Ryans all they could handle. But we also never saw James beat RV in mx. '22 Eli and Chase were at an incredible pace gapping the field. Chase gave Eli all he could handle and I personally saw him whup Eli at Dilla by 15sec. Chase has never beaten a healthy Jett. So are we at an all time level? Who TF knows lol

It's wild that jett does not look like he is even pushing at all.

RC owns him. Just like everyone else he faced for TEN straight years. 

I was at Red Bud and watched Jett crash and he was pushing like we have never seen since moving to 450's. If you watched him closely he was making multiple mistakes but his style makes it look like he's not and allows him to recover from those mistakes and make it look like he planned it!

In the 1st moto in the same corner he crashed in he almost had a huge one, he came into that corner taking the outside line and lost his rear end as it went over the edge of the wall/berm he came really really close to crashing into the big round hay bales that were way outside of the corner....it was one of those where I was trying to get my brother to look by slapping his shoulder and going oh oh oh....Whats really interesting is that when he makes mistakes he recovers so fast and has forgotten by the next lap...

MX has a relatively shallow gene pool, meaning a small percentage of the total population participates. This allows extraordinary talents to rise above others due to limited competition.  If MX were as accessible as soccer or track & field, Jett might be just another rider. Hard to fathom, but imagine if soccer were limited to (mostly) suburban kids with financial resources. Guys who appear phenomenal would be relegated to the bench or worse once the participant floodgates opened. 

Jett looks slow, but nobody can catch him. That's insane. 

IDK though, 2015 Eli was another level. I don't know if anybody from any time period could have touched him at that speed. I don't think he's ever quite gone that fast since, either. 

There are also plenty of years where the “level” goes down, maybe more years like that then the level going up. A few injuries or a early retirement makes sure of that. 

Realistically the level has hardly risen since RC and James indoors and out. Watch 06 high point with RC and James right before Stews back to back crashes. Are those guys beating Jett? I hope not, but they’re beating a lot of the top 10. 

2013 RV was the first time I saw a guy that I was sure would beat those versions of RC and James. My point in bringing that up is the sport moves slowly, only so much uber talented guys. 

It’s the same in the GPs I’m sure you could drop 06 Everts in and in the field they have today he’s running top 10s no problem. 

The problem with moving the level, is outside of RC and Dungey all of the Uber talented guys were hurt. 
RV was basically done with full time prime MX after 13, 16 Roczen probably could have won most races by over a minute and then we all know what happened to him. Injuries hold the sport back. Jett is young with the best medicine we have ever had, with his aging competition he can get hurt for awhile but if he keeps getting hurt it will catch up to him too. 

Exactly. Guys like RC and Stew (and MC before them) absolutely raised the bar on the sport, but eventually, over time, that bar becomes the baseline for future generations.

Jett's only competition would be a 1995-1996 Jeremy McGrath.  MC was the whole package on mental game and physical talent.  Jett might be a step above that.  

The performance and talent in this sport starts at a young age.  It’s the training through the amateur ranks that makes the difference.  These kids are taught by those who have walked the road before.  Someday they will teach the next generation their knowledge.

This phenomenon isn’t special to MX.  It’s happening in all extreme sports.  My opinion is all the past champions would be in the mix given an equal opportunity growing up.  

Think of if another way.  What if MC didn’t have the background in BMX?  We all know he changed SX in a big way and his competition wasn’t able to adjust in time.  He became the king of SX with 72 wins.  I think this tells something about training/learning at a young age.  The bar continues to be raised and always will.