On the earth of Supercross, accidents are a matter of when, not if. Concussions, contusions, torn ACL’s, fractures, and sprains are all part of what every racer indicators up for. For Monster Power Star Yamaha Racing’s Eli Tomac, he was born right into a household of two wheels. His father John Tomac was the 1991 Mountain Bike World Champion and a U.S. Bicycling Corridor of Famer. John additionally rode motocross for enjoyable and whereas Eli Tomac was all the time enamored watching his father compete on the bike, he fell in love with motocross instantly. When he acquired his first bike one Christmas morning, his destiny was sealed.
John has skilled his son his complete life. It’s a relationship the present sequence factors chief and 2020 champion has by no means taken without any consideration.
“It’s simply good steerage, having coach and somebody to level you in the correct course to ship you on the correct path,” Tomac stated. “Early on, we actually centered on approach for driving. From that, that’s what provides you base to get you to that skilled stage. He’s additionally been my bodily coach, too. He does my physical training program and simply tells me what he is aware of I want to listen to.”
Irrespective of the steerage, collisions and spills are laborious to keep away from, and Eli Tomac has had his share. Essentially the most critical ones occurred throughout his rookie season and the next yr. He broke his collarbone throughout follow. The subsequent season, he injured each shoulders in a nasty crash on the Thunder Valley Nationwide in Denver. He suffered a full tear of the rotator cuff in his left shoulder and a dislocation of the correct.
Whereas no athlete enjoys revisiting any harm that takes them away from their sport, it’s clear that the love of the game and competing is what pushes these athletes to proceed to get again on their bikes.
“Accidents are part of our sport,” Tomac stated. “I really feel like motocross athletes are pretty good at healing ourselves shortly as a result of we’re athletes. If you happen to’re in higher form and also you get damage … a number of occasions, you’ll heal quicker than somebody that’s not in nice form that will get damage.
“I feel it simply comes all the way down to the love of sport and it’s simply your ardour for what you do. You don’t consider [the injuries] and I all the time really feel like I’m an in-control rider. Some guys simply get damage greater than others and a few guys don’t get damage as typically. You attempt to keep in management as a lot as attainable, however what’s holding us out there may be the love and fervour for the game. If one thing is admittedly enjoyable, that’s what makes you tick but it surely’s additionally the issues that may chunk you. However there are extra good occasions than unhealthy occasions.”
