Eli Tomac on St. Louis SX: “The good thing is that we didn't lose too many points and we are still tied for the lead”
That is three-for-three now for Eli Tomac…on odd races in a row. The Colorado native looked to be in his best form to start the 2026 Monster Energy AMA Supercross season, finishing 1-1-3-4 before his turn one crash-hindered 12th at the Glendale SX. He then rebounded and finished 1-2-1-2 at the next four rounds. From there, his last three finishes of 3-5-6 are not horrible on paper by any means, but on the eye test, the riding has been…well, not great like he was to start the season.
On Friday, Tomac confirmed to our Tom Journet he was not riding through any injuries or anything, saying: "Yeah, physically I’m fine. I’m good, I’m good.”
Well, after Saturday night's St. Louis, a sixth in the 450SX main event from Tomac, we are all still scratching our heads.
Tomac said the following about St. Louis in the KTM post-race release:
“It was a tougher day for us at St. Louis, but the good thing is that we didn't lose too many points and we are still tied for the lead. I'm looking forward to the last five races, and doing what we can to get back up on top."
Now, the St. Louis SX track was far from a walk in the park as the tricky track broke down to become rough and rutted and even more technical, upping the ante for mistakes and crashes, as we saw all day long. But Tomac’s riding just looked off again. He was moving forward in the 450SX main event after starting around ninth, but then he was passed by Justin Cooper (who was riding really well) and Cooper Webb (who one could argue does not have that fire in him like he did last year at this point). And again, Tomac did not seem to put up a tough fight for either rider.
We have seen “weirdo” Tomac rides here and there in previous years, but they usually last for a main event, then he and his team/crew make changes to the bike for the next weekend and he looks much better again. But this pattern of odd races three weeks in a row is unusual. And they have all been different types of builds/broken down different, which is strange too because it is not like he is struggling with the bike on say all hard packed tracks and had three straight hard packed tracks, thus causing problems. These layouts and dirt types have been varying. But then again, maybe that could be a factor in all this, too?
Although we have yet to pinpoint exactly what it is causing Tomac’s “off” looking riding, we can all see something is up. This is not the same guy we saw to start the season: attacking the track, flowing, fighting back while battling. This has looked like the opposite now for the last three weeks.
It really looked like when Tomac got onto the KTM to start this SX season he was a different rider. More experienced than ever but still having the raw speed from his peak years. Combining the two factors on a more-than-capable bike seemed like he could really go on a run for this title. But now, it looks like there is someone else on his bike. This is not the Eli Tomac we expect to see each and every weekend and I think it is fair to say he would agree this is not up to his own—and his team’s—standards.
Through Tomac's off nights and Hunter Lawrence's costly crash at the Detroit SX last weekend, the biggest beneficiary has been Ken Roczen. Roczen now has two wins in a row and taken his 31-point deficit leaving Birmingham to now just five points behind Tomac and Lawrence. This two-rider battle became a three-rider battle in the blink of an eye. Five races to go and we will crown a 2026 450SX Champion. Good lucking guessing on how this will play out from here!
Watch the St. Louis 450SX video highlights below and view the results/championship standings.
| Rider | Time | Interval | Best Lap | Hometown | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ken Roczen | 55.337 | Mattstedt, Germany  | Suzuki RM-Z450 | ||
| 2 |  Justin Cooper | 55.726 | Cold Spring Harbor, NY  | Yamaha YZ450F | ||
| 3 |  Hunter Lawrence | 56.537 | Landsborough, Australia  | Honda CRF450R Works Edition | ||
| 4 |  Jorge Prado | 55.919 | Lugo, Spain  | KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition | ||
| 5 |  Cooper Webb | 56.564 | Newport, NC | Yamaha YZ250F | ||
| 6 |  Eli Tomac | 56.459 | Cortez, CO | KTM 450 SX-F Factory Edition |
| Position | Rider | Hometown | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hunter Lawrence | Landsborough, Australia | 286 |
| 2 | Ken Roczen | Mattstedt, Germany | 285 |
| 3 | Cooper Webb | Newport, NC | 264 |
| 4 | Eli Tomac | Cortez, CO | 255 |
| 5 | Justin Cooper | Cold Spring Harbor, NY | 233 |
