For the first time in his career, Eli Tomac was able to sweep both the Monster Energy AMA Supercross and Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championships. He’s also the 2022 Racer X Rider of the Year

WORDS: DAVEY COOMBS
PHOTOS: ALIGN MEDIA

When does an athlete reach legend status? When does a competitor become one of the all-time greats? For Eli Tomac, such questions were all but answered in 2022. In the 30th year of his life—almost half of which he has spent as a professional racer—Tomac finally achieved two things that had long eluded him: Tomac swept both the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the Lucas Oil 450 Class Pro Motocross Championship in a single season for the first time, and then he led Team USA to a long-overdue victory at the 2022 FIM Motocross of Nations. It was the last full measure needed for Tomac, now with seven major AMA titles and more than 70 combined race wins, to enter that pantheon of all-time greats in this sport. And it was more than enough to earn Eli Tomac our 2022 Racer X Rider of the Year honors.