Which Supercross Stars are the Best at Key Skills?

Who's the best passer? The best in the whoops? Find out in this gallery of the riders in action.

By Words: Aaron Hansel Photos: Garth Milan on 25 January 2016

You have to be a talented and well-rounded rider if you want to race pro supercross, but there are some areas where certain riders excel and stand above the rest. Here are some great shots of the masters at work.

Passing: 250 SX

Cooper Webb is an incredible rider, but his starts aren’t always the best, frequently forcing him to come through the field. Fortunately for him he’s extremely aggressive and wastes no time making passes. Whether he’s got six inches or six feet, or if he’s in the air or on the ground, he moves to the front in a hurry.

 

Ken Roczen slips past Jacob Weimer © Garth Milan for RedBull.com

Passing: 450SX

Like Webb, Ken Roczen is one of the most amazing talents racing today. Unfortunately he hasn’t been getting great starts so far this year and has had to fight through the pack. But if there’s one positive, it’s that he gets to show off how proficient he is at cleanly picking guys off, a skill that has kept his season alive so far.

Qualifying

Christophe Pourcel is a mystery. He can be fast enough to win on one day and finish outside the top 15 the next. There’s just no predicting which Pourcel will show up on race day. One thing you can always rely on though is his ridiculous speed in qualifying — he’ll go from rolling jumps to setting the fastest lap out of nowhere!

Fitness

Jason Anderson, who trains under the legendary Aldon Baker, never fades. In fact, sometimes it seems like he gets even faster as the race progresses, like he did at the opener when he smoked the field to take his first 450SX win. It doesn’t matter how long a race is, Anderson will be just as fast on the final lap — if not faster — as he is on the first.

Eyes on the prize: Ryan Dungey is always on point © Garth Milan for RedBull.com

Focus

There’s a reason Red Bull KTM’s Ryan Dungey is frequently referred to as The Terminator — the dude is a machine! Unlike many of his fellow racers, Dungey almost never crashes and big mistakes are extremely rare. In San Diego he used his laser focus to execute 20 flawless laps and win, despite heavy pressure from veteran Chad Reed.

Holeshot boss Jessy Nelson © Garth Milan for RedBull.com

Starts

The start is half the race, and that’s especially true in supercross where there’s just not much room to make quick passes. Even if you’re the fastest guy, you can’t afford to let someone run away with a lead while you’re stuck in the pack. Fortunately for Jessy Nelson, he’s an incredible starter, and runs away from the pack more often than getting stuck in it.

James Stewart: Wrote the book of Scrubs © Garth Milan for RedBull.com

Scrubs

These days the scrub is a standard tool in a racer’s bag of supercross tricks, but nobody stays low and gets back on the ground faster than Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart. Of course, this should come as no surprise, seeing as how Stewart himself invented the move. Need proof? Check out Stewart’s signature style, complete with slow-mo.

Whoops

Not all whoops are the same, but it’s common for them to be spaced roughly six-to-eight feet apart, peak to peak, and they’re always substantially higher than your knee. Drop a front wheel in them and you’re going over the bars! Good thing that title contender Eli Tomac is one of the best in the biz when it comes to blasting through these treacherous obstacles.