Posts
5933
Joined
4/1/2008
Location
US
Edited Date/Time
12/20/2018 3:00pm
We sat down with the likeable and charismatic Belgian legend to get his thoughts on 2018 as well as the thoughts behind signing the realitively unknown Tom Vialle to the factory squad, and as usual, Smets had a very insightful take on a number of topics,
Joel Smets interview
Joel Smets interview
I'd add that on his best day - Tomac is next level speed with any rider.
But he has the biggest swings to his bad day from his best day I think we have ever seen from a championship rider. A friend said Robbie Reynard kinda the last guy we saw who could beat anyone speed wise on his day - but then have bad days.
Tomac certainly better than that in consistency - but it's odd he isn't just always great day in and day out like Carmichael or villo was...
I like Tomac a lot - and hope to see him at his best every race day for a whole season - I think it would be something special to witness if he does.
Sure we got our butts kicked at des Nations but that doesn’t somehow mean our top rider is second class compared to Cairoli or Herlings. Anything can happen in one day and the MXdN is a good example of that. Paulin, DeSalle, Febvre etc. are not on Tomac or Roczen’s level.
The Shop
Totally disagree.
Smets has the same spirit as his style on a dirtbike : square, heavy and nag. A bit like the brain of Herlings. I understand why they love each other. Pure Flemish of the deep flanders.
Tomac is one of the very best out there , but when the heat is on Tomac is gone and not home
in all 6 moto's they raced each other at MXON , Paulin beat him 5 out of the 6 .. Tomac beat him at USGP on his hometurf ... no pressure and Tomac shows up
dont think Paulin is at Tomacs level , but when the heat is on Paulin knows what to do and bring it home and thats just a fact
in a series Tomac wins 8 out of 10 races against Paulin , at MXON its vice versa
I don't know how they would compare had Kenny never gotten injured. But I think both of them are no Carmichaels or Villopotos.
From 02 to 05 RC was so ridiculously dominant, he won every single moto in 02 and 04. I believe he came second in only two motos in 05. I don't quite remember 03 but he also pretty much cleaned up there.
And that against pretty good competition: Windham, Reed, DV, Fonseca, Ferry
Roczen and Tomac were never even close to doing that. Not in SX and not in MX.
Without RC we would be talking about how amazing Windham and Reed were these days. They would have dominated the rest of the field. With RC they really were only second tier (outdoors that is).
The only guy that currently comes close to what RC did is Herlings. Although we will have to see if he can hold it together for a couple of years.
Won a 450 championship is one thing. Won five 450 championship in a row with total domination without injury is an another thing. Will we see.
Tomac definitely struggles with consistency when compared to a machine like Dungey but his “on” speed is right there with Herlings or anybody else in the world.
Shocker that mccread aka GeoffJr tries to stir the us vs them pot...
A few are singing the praises of Herlings here without mentioning Cairoli in the same breath. Antonio is a 9 time world champion, most recently in 2017 with Herlings racing against him. Jeffrey is definitely one of those riders who come along once in a long while, but he still has a ways to go to eclipse Antonio's accomplishments. In 2019, I feel that Antonio may be able to step it up a little more despite his age. If he does so, Jeffrey will need to match this progression.
Pit Row
NO WAY Paulin is on the same level as Tomac and i say that being French.
Peoples REALLY seem to forget Tomac has won 5 out of his 6 GP races so he is on top of the world in term of speed
I think that many are finding it hard to believe other nations are now able to assemble 3 man teams to compete with and beat our American team. I for one am not shocked. If the racing was expanded and there were 8 man teams for example, American depth may win the day. But with only 3 riders per team, we are seeing that other nations are able to win. The top riders from these nations are as good and possibly better (probably better if results is the criteria) than the American riders at the moment
Half tongue in cheek by the way.
Good reminder here.
And, as most (if not all?) Dutch / The Netherlands rounds would be in Sand, well, I refer back to Kurt Nicholl being interviewed at a Dutch GP, in around 86 / 87. Something like - "You come here, and there are a whole bunch of Dutchmen you've never heard of, putting seconds into you in timed practice". Not many of the US Nationals field would do any good on most Dutch, and other Euro Sand tracks.
And, before the usual squealing, it would be Much like not that many of the GP riders doing any good if they turned up at the US specialty - Supercross.
Swings and Roundabout, as they say, folks.Swings and Roundabouts.
I agree with Smets in his interview. For some reason, Tomac can't really match his speed and talent like he can do during races with less pressure, Paulin has the opposite. He really can step it up during weekends like that. No offense to Tomac, every year he does mind blowing things and thats amazing to see.
In my opinion, at this moment indeed no one can match Herlings and Cairoli. Yes, guys like Gajser, Desalle, Febvre and once Coldenhoff can do it 1 heat, but they are on top. Comparing Roczen, Musquin and Tomac with them? They would probably match them if they would ride outdoors all year.
These injuries really show how dominant RC, RV and Dungey were during their prime. Getting multiple championships without any injuries shows how good they were, and it shows how good Reed and Windham were during their prime years
Post a reply to: Joel Smets on Herlings, Prado, Vialle and Red Bud