Tomac

soulberg3
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Are there any signs or things that point to Tomac retiring at the conclusion of SX or MX? I thought he was in a contract season, but I've heard he's re-upped or has another year on the contract. To me, it would make sense for his change in demeanor over MX last season & SX this year. The weight of getting that supercross title has finally been lifted & I'm wondering if he's considered hanging it up. Don't get me wrong, his season hasn't been bad by any means, just not his usual self. Didn't know if there was anything concrete about him hanging it up.
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davistld01
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davistld01 4/24/2021 3:19pm
4/24/2021 3:19pm Edited Date/Time 4/24/2021 3:20pm
Tomac has got to see that his ship has sailed...and maybe he's ok with that. He put in tons of effort for a helluva long time chasing the SX title...and he finally got it. Nothing left to prove. He's still a great rider...when the planets line up and he's feeling it, he can beat anybody...but there are others more consistent than he is...at least mentally. He seems to be the kind of dude that wouldn't have much of a problem stepping away to be a "regular guy" with his girlfriend and kids.
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Ozy
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Ozy 4/24/2021 7:47pm
4/24/2021 7:47pm
Remember a few years ago people were saying the same about Roczen. KR had an amazing year this season.

My speculation is that ET3 is not going to risk an injury being so far out of the points. If he has a sub-par outdoor season then we know being a daddy changed the game for him.
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agn5008
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agn5008 4/24/2021 8:15pm
4/24/2021 8:15pm
Ozy wrote:
Remember a few years ago people were saying the same about Roczen. KR had an amazing year this season. My speculation is that ET3 is not...
Remember a few years ago people were saying the same about Roczen. KR had an amazing year this season.

My speculation is that ET3 is not going to risk an injury being so far out of the points. If he has a sub-par outdoor season then we know being a daddy changed the game for him.
Or age and competition getting better changed him.
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gregyou
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gregyou 4/24/2021 11:52pm
4/24/2021 11:52pm
davistld01 wrote:
Tomac has got to see that his ship has sailed...and maybe he's ok with that. He put in tons of effort for a helluva long time...
Tomac has got to see that his ship has sailed...and maybe he's ok with that. He put in tons of effort for a helluva long time chasing the SX title...and he finally got it. Nothing left to prove. He's still a great rider...when the planets line up and he's feeling it, he can beat anybody...but there are others more consistent than he is...at least mentally. He seems to be the kind of dude that wouldn't have much of a problem stepping away to be a "regular guy" with his girlfriend and kids.
It’s strange how he went straight from dominating to this, if it was a slow decline you would think age and competition but it was a sudden form change as soon as he won the sx title
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gt80rider
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gt80rider 4/25/2021 6:56am
4/25/2021 6:56am
He may just be saving it for the nats....

But if we keep seeing slow-mac outdoors, uggghhhh.....
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kb228
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kb228 4/25/2021 7:39am
4/25/2021 7:39am
Hes been this way since he won the sx title. The drive is gone. Millionaire with 2 kids and nothing left to prove or win. Complacency is getting the best of him.
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Tumic
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Tumic 4/25/2021 8:42am
4/25/2021 8:42am
kb228 wrote:
Hes been this way since he won the sx title. The drive is gone. Millionaire with 2 kids and nothing left to prove or win. Complacency...
Hes been this way since he won the sx title. The drive is gone. Millionaire with 2 kids and nothing left to prove or win. Complacency is getting the best of him.
Starting to feel like it. Last year they all said that he was hung over from the sx title when the nationals started.

This sx season tells another story. If this continues during 21 mx season, i dont see him winning another title again.
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Forty
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Forty 4/25/2021 8:48am
4/25/2021 8:48am
Tomac has been a mystery since coming up, his next race he may smoke this very fast field of past champions or he may drift around in the 10-12 spot but IMO he has good racing left in him and a championship is doable if he wants it.

Speculating on how he feels since having a child or winning the SX title is just that, speculation.



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Crush
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Crush 4/25/2021 8:51am
4/25/2021 8:51am
Anton just reported he signed another two years so he must think he’s got it still.

Can’t imagine not competing at the absolutely pinnacle Would be acceptable for someone like that so he must want it. I went and watched a few 2017-2019 SX races and Eli hasn’t looked like the majority of those all year. Interesting to see what plays out.
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Bradshaw Fan 4/25/2021 8:53am
4/25/2021 8:53am
Unfortunately for the Tomac fans he has not put the effort in this year as he has done in the past and this goes for Roczen too. We are not seeing the Tomac we have all loved to watch. But he gave some rad years of watching him embarrass the field both indoors and out. Im looking forward to seeing Sexton and AC put in work next year and dominate the orange dorks.

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brocster 4/25/2021 8:56am
4/25/2021 8:56am
Pretty sure they commented on this last yesterday on the broadcast. Said something like if he’s feeling it he’ll push but if something is off he’s not willing to throw it all on the line anymore. Atleast that’s what I thought I heard. I know you guys will correct me if I am wrong, fire away...
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TbonesPop 4/25/2021 9:01am
4/25/2021 9:01am
kb228 wrote:
Hes been this way since he won the sx title. The drive is gone. Millionaire with 2 kids and nothing left to prove or win. Complacency...
Hes been this way since he won the sx title. The drive is gone. Millionaire with 2 kids and nothing left to prove or win. Complacency is getting the best of him.
He's just enjoying riding and working on moving up the record books in terms of wins. No more pressure. When he gets a start, he wins.
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hunterp27
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hunterp27 4/25/2021 9:03am
4/25/2021 9:03am
It all comes down to one thing and one thing only for Tomac. How bad does he want it? If he wants it enough to hang it out for the entire SX season, he still has a 2-3 year window physically to make that happen. To do that he would have to put aside all the outside influences that can keep a human from making that kind of commitment. Wives/Girlfriend, new baby, wanting to be able to walk and talk correctly into your later adulthood. If he put all those things aside and decided to Nut it every night, he wins another SX title, but how does that change his life? So he has two SX championships instead of one. Does that put him in the same discussion with Dungey, Villopoto, McGrath and Carmichael? I don't think so but maybe I am wrong and for the record he's who I pull for every single week.
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Harv379 4/25/2021 9:22am
4/25/2021 9:22am
I was watching older footy of the pre- 19' kawi, and it seemed like his riding style and aggression was different, perhaps from the 20 model's pretty significant changes in handling. It seemed like he's always kind of been a rear steering type of rider and the new bike has more front end steering and feel than any kawi in the past which most prefer so I could be wrong but interesting to think about. He's still my favorite rider to watch, but it is a bit disheartening to see him finish 40 seconds back or whatever it was last night. That's on me I feel that way though, not on him.
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davistld01 4/25/2021 12:06pm
4/25/2021 12:06pm
brocster wrote:
Pretty sure they commented on this last yesterday on the broadcast. Said something like if he’s feeling it he’ll push but if something is off he’s...
Pretty sure they commented on this last yesterday on the broadcast. Said something like if he’s feeling it he’ll push but if something is off he’s not willing to throw it all on the line anymore. Atleast that’s what I thought I heard. I know you guys will correct me if I am wrong, fire away...
If that’s what he said...if I were one of the hotshots at Kawasaki, I’d be finding some way of buying him out of his contract after this year. I wouldn’t be willing to pay anybody close to what I’ll bet they’re paying Tomac if he’s not willing to put it all out there at any race...whether he’s “feeling it” or not!
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Forty
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Forty 4/25/2021 1:28pm
4/25/2021 1:28pm Edited Date/Time 4/25/2021 1:42pm
brocster wrote:
Pretty sure they commented on this last yesterday on the broadcast. Said something like if he’s feeling it he’ll push but if something is off he’s...
Pretty sure they commented on this last yesterday on the broadcast. Said something like if he’s feeling it he’ll push but if something is off he’s not willing to throw it all on the line anymore. Atleast that’s what I thought I heard. I know you guys will correct me if I am wrong, fire away...
davistld01 wrote:
If that’s what he said...if I were one of the hotshots at Kawasaki, I’d be finding some way of buying him out of his contract after...
If that’s what he said...if I were one of the hotshots at Kawasaki, I’d be finding some way of buying him out of his contract after this year. I wouldn’t be willing to pay anybody close to what I’ll bet they’re paying Tomac if he’s not willing to put it all out there at any race...whether he’s “feeling it” or not!
I can’t agree with this. he’s still running the number 1 from a year ago for christs sake and has a string of recent out door titles AND We can’t know the contract talks or the relationship Eli has with the Kawasaki team.

If I’m the decision guy at Kawasaki I’ve already had talks with him about performance/plans/motivation and by signing through 2022 they must know or are aware of something we do not.

Kawasaki has the dough to have eli around another coupke years without it shuttering their business.
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mxb2 4/25/2021 1:35pm
4/25/2021 1:35pm
brocster wrote:
Pretty sure they commented on this last yesterday on the broadcast. Said something like if he’s feeling it he’ll push but if something is off he’s...
Pretty sure they commented on this last yesterday on the broadcast. Said something like if he’s feeling it he’ll push but if something is off he’s not willing to throw it all on the line anymore. Atleast that’s what I thought I heard. I know you guys will correct me if I am wrong, fire away...
davistld01 wrote:
If that’s what he said...if I were one of the hotshots at Kawasaki, I’d be finding some way of buying him out of his contract after...
If that’s what he said...if I were one of the hotshots at Kawasaki, I’d be finding some way of buying him out of his contract after this year. I wouldn’t be willing to pay anybody close to what I’ll bet they’re paying Tomac if he’s not willing to put it all out there at any race...whether he’s “feeling it” or not!
Kinda like hrc paying kroc now. Lol. Kawy got 4 titles from tomac. .
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KurtJ99
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KurtJ99 4/25/2021 2:29pm
4/25/2021 2:29pm Edited Date/Time 4/25/2021 2:29pm
Forty wrote:
I can’t agree with this. he’s still running the number 1 from a year ago for christs sake and has a string of recent out door...
I can’t agree with this. he’s still running the number 1 from a year ago for christs sake and has a string of recent out door titles AND We can’t know the contract talks or the relationship Eli has with the Kawasaki team.

If I’m the decision guy at Kawasaki I’ve already had talks with him about performance/plans/motivation and by signing through 2022 they must know or are aware of something we do not.

Kawasaki has the dough to have eli around another coupke years without it shuttering their business.
Agree. Didn’t the GOAT get shunned by Honda when conventional wisdom said he was washed up? Then some he had a pretty good run at Suzuki.
I don’t see Kawasaki letting go of Tomac and making a similar mistake.
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Ranman68 4/25/2021 2:56pm
4/25/2021 2:56pm
I think people are reading too much into the 2020 outdoor season. It was an extra short season and with the DNF's Tomac had early on, his chances to win that title were severely diminished. Some people are saying that Tomac is just not willing to push the limits and take risks if winning the title becomes a long shot. I agree with that asessment, and for Tomac, it is probably the smartest choice now that he has a family. Perhaps age is playing a small role. Without question, the level and depth of his competition is higher than ever.
Whatever the case, he seems to still enjoy it and wants to compete. I believe that as long as he is still in the title hunt and has a chance of winning it that is good enough to justify pushing hard, he will. Even if he cant walk all over the field, he will go hard. I believe at least one more sx and/or mx title is in him, but only if he can stay within a certain range of the points lead and be in the hunt near the end of the season.


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ButteryWaffles 4/25/2021 3:26pm
4/25/2021 3:26pm Edited Date/Time 4/25/2021 6:24pm
But whenever James is brought up in conversation, people always have to mention how he ONLY has two SX titles.
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datkin128
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datkin128 4/25/2021 7:17pm
4/25/2021 7:17pm
Harv379 wrote:
I was watching older footy of the pre- 19' kawi, and it seemed like his riding style and aggression was different, perhaps from the 20 model's...
I was watching older footy of the pre- 19' kawi, and it seemed like his riding style and aggression was different, perhaps from the 20 model's pretty significant changes in handling. It seemed like he's always kind of been a rear steering type of rider and the new bike has more front end steering and feel than any kawi in the past which most prefer so I could be wrong but interesting to think about. He's still my favorite rider to watch, but it is a bit disheartening to see him finish 40 seconds back or whatever it was last night. That's on me I feel that way though, not on him.
He must have crashed again. He was on Plessinger until about the 3:30 Mark then suddenly dropped another 15 seconds.
yak651
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yak651 4/25/2021 7:42pm
4/25/2021 7:42pm
Much more enjoyable now we don’t have to listen to Dylan call into Pulp...
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stiksandstones 4/25/2021 8:52pm
4/25/2021 8:52pm
Tomac still wins and is capable of winning, the odds are good. So-for that, he has value to the sport, sponsors and fans...and he appears to still enjoy racing.
So there.
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kpiper
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kpiper 4/25/2021 9:44pm
4/25/2021 9:44pm Edited Date/Time 4/25/2021 9:45pm
He was the fastest qualifier right? Also, won his heat race. Speed is there.

Same old thing though...Eli is a very bad starter most of the time and not very good the first couple of laps.

There is no more beast mode so he is not coming through the pack in 2021 like the old days. Plus, that track was tough to pass on. You had to know if Eli got his normal bad start he would not do well.
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Ozy
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Ozy 4/25/2021 10:13pm
4/25/2021 10:13pm
Ozy wrote:
Remember a few years ago people were saying the same about Roczen. KR had an amazing year this season. My speculation is that ET3 is not...
Remember a few years ago people were saying the same about Roczen. KR had an amazing year this season.

My speculation is that ET3 is not going to risk an injury being so far out of the points. If he has a sub-par outdoor season then we know being a daddy changed the game for him.
agn5008 wrote:
Or age and competition getting better changed him.
No doubt the competition in the 2021 SX 450 class was amazing.

KROC came out on fire and showed the most Heart/desire early in the season - Remember KROC didn't really hit the ground mid season, he was just off. It was only the last 2 races Kenny's luck ran out. ET3 never really showed any fire all year except for Daytona and Atlanta 1. Webb Came out slow but got more and more aggressive and the season went on and the results show it.

Not sure if the competition is the reason - He's had some very serious injuries; when he came back from his last serious back injury he completely changed his mental approach
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Gukamonster 4/25/2021 11:17pm
4/25/2021 11:17pm
Worth pointing out that he has been mainly injury free for 6 seasons now and I don't think he ever missed a race. He talked after 2017 SX about wanting to be more consistent long term for championships like Dungey. Seemed like he managed to mostly do that for the next 3 years. The post SX title Eli does look a lot different most nights.
kieran_macca 4/26/2021 1:26am
4/26/2021 1:26am
Crush wrote:
Anton just reported he signed another two years so he must think he’s got it still. Can’t imagine not competing at the absolutely pinnacle Would be...
Anton just reported he signed another two years so he must think he’s got it still.

Can’t imagine not competing at the absolutely pinnacle Would be acceptable for someone like that so he must want it. I went and watched a few 2017-2019 SX races and Eli hasn’t looked like the majority of those all year. Interesting to see what plays out.
Got a link/source? Thats awesome if he signed another two years.
ProbablyDave 4/26/2021 1:36am
4/26/2021 1:36am
I think saying that Tomac was over it or "hungover" from the SX title last year is a bit of an exaggeration. He ended the 2020 series 34 points down from Osborne, and that was including his two DNFs in one day. He might not have been "beast mode" Eli Tomac but he was still pretty damn good. This year seems to be a different story.
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Crush
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Crush 4/26/2021 3:17am
4/26/2021 3:17am
ProbablyDave wrote:
I think saying that Tomac was over it or "hungover" from the SX title last year is a bit of an exaggeration. He ended the 2020...
I think saying that Tomac was over it or "hungover" from the SX title last year is a bit of an exaggeration. He ended the 2020 series 34 points down from Osborne, and that was including his two DNFs in one day. He might not have been "beast mode" Eli Tomac but he was still pretty damn good. This year seems to be a different story.
Yeah two double dnfs in a shortened series after winning something and having a kid, not surprised he was a little bit mreh... but then again we've been used to him just steamrolling since his career started. If he was a win from the front type of guy we might not have noticed so much.

It's because his wins have been so dramatic the fall off seems more noticeable.

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