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I was just looking up the ages of the top ten 450 riders and, man, Chase Sexton could be poised to go on a long run of championships in the near future. Maybe not this year, but I think he's well ahead of his peers in speed and racecraft. When he starts to manage those little mistakes and the old guard retires, he could do some damage to the record books.
1. Eli Tomac 29
2. Chase Sexton 22
3. Jason Anderson 29 (next week)
4. Malcom Stewart 29
5. Justin Barcia 29
6. Cooper Webb 26
7. Marvin Musquin 32
8. Ken Roczen 27(soon)
9. Dylan Ferrandis 27
10. Aaron Plessinger 26
1. Eli Tomac 29
2. Chase Sexton 22
3. Jason Anderson 29 (next week)
4. Malcom Stewart 29
5. Justin Barcia 29
6. Cooper Webb 26
7. Marvin Musquin 32
8. Ken Roczen 27(soon)
9. Dylan Ferrandis 27
10. Aaron Plessinger 26
Not like it was in the 2000s tho, guys go into their 30s now
Cianciarulo 26 in October
Jeremy Martin 29 in May
Colt Nichols 28 next month
Christian Craig 31 in July
Austin Forkner 24 in September
RJ Hampshire 26 last month
Hunter Lawrence 23 in August
Chase certainly looks to have the advantage over his peers, but it's a cycle that's happened many times before. A young guy comes up with great raw speed and just needs to control the little mistakes. The problem is that the mistakes are caused by the raw speed, and so inevitably over time riders slow down a little to gain consistency. Right now Chase looks to be running at a pace too fast for him to reliably control, if he hasn't got the skill to control the bike at that speed by this stage in his career he likely won't aquire it in the future. I expect his race pace over the next 5 years to be slightly below what he's shown over the last few weeks.
It sucks that injuries have made him less and less relevant. Reminds me of too many promising superstars.
The Shop
Guys are staying in the sport longer.
As of next season, it looks like we're gonna have 6 or 7 very fast guys that will be Vet MX racers
There's a reason we line em up
Gotta feel for Forkner. Few years ago he gave the 250 SX title to rookie Sexton. Sexton now knocking on the door of top dog for HRC 450 and very well positioned to be the next man of the sport, while AF is yet to complete a regional 250 SX series.
Pit Row
It was close to being Craig, friese and blose.
In my opinion, the field is going to thin out in the future despite the names coming up. Not many of the 250 guys are very consistent and I think we’re going to see more fill in rides than anything. I can see the class shifting back to having one or two dominant riders every weekend.
Of course this is all speculation and I would love to be proven wrong. We have definitely been spoiled these past few seasons.
Edit: the more I think of it, there are a lot of solid 250 guys. The split costs make me forget about some names.
Both classes being controlled by guys that are nearly 30-years-old could mean a couple of things. Either the next generation hasn't stepped it up, or we're in new territory in which training techniques and preparation have allowed these guys to be competitive into their 30s.
Either way, Chase is positioned to be a threat for a long time.
We are entering into an era where, as you said, guys that're getting into their 30s and they have PLENTY of speed left in'em.
Last night's 450 podium was, I think, '29 years old'...right?
Post a reply to: Close to a new era in SX?