2020 St. Louis Supercross | Race Preview

2020 ST. LOUIS SUPERCROSS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

After a close and competitive opening round in Southern California, the 2020 Monster Energy Supercross Series has moved to the Midwest for the second stop, the 2020 St. Louis Supercross. The Midwest race was a staple for decades, was left off the 2019 calendar, and returned with a much earlier date this year with mixed reactions from all involved. Riders are happy to put a tire to some of the best dirt in the country and fans in the middle of the country are excited to see the sport’s best, but the privateers and truck drivers have a 4000-mile roundtrip voyage between rounds one and three (A1-STL-A2).

While much of the MX world’s attention is on St. Louis, there’s another large Supercross race happening this weekend in Germany and a handful of Main Event-level riders without factory deals have decided to go there for a payday instead of staying in the States for points. You’ll notice that Kyle Chisholm, Ryan Breece, Tyler Bowers, Nick Schmidt, and a few others are missing from the entry list below. Who will fill their places in the running order for this weekend?

Justin Barcia’s Anaheim One win was a statement for the Monster Energy Yamaha Factory Racing rider, as it proved that he can be the top rider on any given night and that his setup preferences for the YZ450F can translate to results. The second opening-round win in a row for BamBam, he’s proven to be competitive in the early part of recent seasons (he’s held the red plate for multiple rounds) but has faced injuries or other issues that hampered his results. During every preseason talk, Barcia praised the staff at the Yamaha team for taking his input and said that he feels more prepared than ever, something we’re now used to hearing from racers late in their careers. A win or podium finish in St. Louis would back up Barcia’s results and show how serious he really is this year.

Adam Cianciarulo could not have had a much better debut 450 SX than Anaheim One. The fastest of the field all through qualifying, the Monster Energy Kawasaki rider damn near won the Main Event until a mistake in the middle of the long moto put the lead back in Barcia’s favor. Regardless of the results, Cianciarulo was practically flawless on the track and proved that he’s matured into a well-rounded, crafty challenger for the title.

Cooper Webb was largely left out of the title talk in the preseason, a weird thing for the defending champion. But the Red Bull KTM rider likes it when the world doubts him and not even a case of the flu could keep him off of the podium at A1. Will Webb have recovered in the week since and be even stronger? That’s one thing we’re eager to see because the first race wasn’t a clear indicator of his full speed.

While those three commanded the headlines, Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac were a topic of bench racing discussions after so-so results. Both struggled with issues, Roczen with a rigid bike and Tomac with arm pump, but have said that they expect to do better in the coming weeks. Will that start now? It’s good that they each got through Anaheim One with points, a big improvement for Tomac compared to years past, but if they leave St. Louis with similar results, they’re going to be way down in the standings. Both could be on the podium Saturday night and it wouldn’t be a surprise.

Justin Cooper’s career-first Main Event win came at Anaheim One and he’s determined to keep the red plate mounted to his Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha motorcycle. His biggest rival, Dylan Ferrandis, is just a few feet away in the same pit area and we’re interested to see how this plays out in the next few weeks. Both are hard-nosed riders that take every inch when in a battle, but they cannot rob each other of too many points. And then there’s the wild card of Austin Forkner, as the Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki rider has no friends on the track and wouldn’t mind getting between the blue bikes. Seriously, these three racers are going to do everything short of killing each other before they let the other get ahead.

With the opening round jitters out of the way, an enclosed stadium with a clay-based soil that offers primo traction, and a chance for redemption, expect some riders to make big improvements.