With the final chapter of his decorated professional career now in sight, Eli Tomac formally announced his retirement ahead of the 2026 Monster Energy SMX World Championship post-season. At 33, Tomac will go down as one of the all-time greats, and took time to reflect on his legendary status at the top level of the sport in this Check In feature.

Image: Octopi Media.

You did a great job explaining it on your own social media the Monday after the Ironman race, but is anything different now that you’ve arrived at the races after having said this is probably going to be it?

I must say, yes. It does feel different. Just knowing exactly what I’m doing now and having made that decision, it’s not an easy one, but I’m at peace with it now.

You have a realistic chance at winning this championship. Would that change anything going forward, or how exciting would it be to close out with a drop-the-mic moment?

Yeah, of course we’re missing Jett [Lawrence], so it opens it up. I mean, the competition is very gnarly, no matter what, but listen, he has been the guy these last, whatever, three years of this. And yeah, this is, ‘Hey, you’ve got three races just to leave it all out there. Give it what you’ve got.’ So, that’s my plan.

There were rumors that you were going to come back for the 2027 Supercross season, but that obviously changed at some point during the summer. When did you know that this was the decision you had to make?

There was a time, yeah, I was, ‘Hey, I plan on coming back,’ and then I guess there was also a time where you know when you’re done, and that time did come for me. So, man, it’s just not an easy decision, but I knew this would be the way for me to go out.

I know you did kind of talk about it in the announcement video that you did, but you’ve become an all-time great of this sport. You’ve won multiple championships in all disciplines, basically. What do you hope you’re remembered for in this sport?

I guess longevity at being able to be a championship contender. So, I feel like I’ve maybe raised that level for being 33 and having the red plate at one point in the Supercross season. So, I think that’s pretty cool. We’re now getting into the plus-30s and still being at the top of our game. So, that’s one point, and I guess that’s kind of what I feel is longevity. I was able to squeeze as much juice as I could out of it and still be at the top.

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Just to follow that, if you look around, Ken Roczen won a Monster Energy Supercross Championship this year and he’s over 30, and you’re doing what you’re doing over 30… It seems like the trend has gotten towards higher performance being a little bit older than maybe generations before. What do you attribute that to?

I guess it’s just because we want to. Everyone, as an athlete, you have goals, and those guys hit their marks and they’re done. But for us, it’s, ‘We can still do it.’ And maybe some of the industry thought there was a place to draw the line, but we’ve raised that bar. So, it’s really just about learning how to manage a whole season, trying to stay healthy, minimising injuries and, yeah, especially when it comes to Supercross, it’s still such a skill-based sport that the old guys can stay in it.

Three different stadiums, three different venues, three new locations for these last three races of your career. What is it like being able to go to a few more places before you hang it up, and also being able to ride in front of a different set of fans who maybe have never watched you race before?

It’s refreshing. You know, I’m booking the flight or looking at the board in the airport, it’s like, ‘Columbus, I haven’t been there yet.’ So, it’s just refreshing to go to new places, see new dirt, new stadiums. And I believe this is a soccer-based stadium, right? The floor space is really, really big and should provide a nice track for us.

Performance-wise, we saw some signs at Budds Creek and Ironman of the old Eli. I know the races before that, when you came back from injury, weren’t what you wanted, but you were getting closer to that podium. Does that give you a little momentum, and now we’ve got two more weeks that you can compete at the front again?

I sure hope so. I came back too early and I was not the guy that I was supposed to be. Talking about motocross here, so I felt like I had a good flow in that last moto at Ironman. I’m, ‘Hey, I still kind of got it,’ even though it was a fifth in the moto there, but I feel like I’m building. I should be able to be up there with the podium group here.

What do you attribute that to? This has been something I’ve noticed the last couple of years – you’ve dealt with injuries, you’ve come back, maybe motocross didn’t go exactly how you wanted, but then you come into the playoffs rejuvenated. You can see the enthusiasm and the intensity in your riding is really noticeable, so do you feel that when you come into these playoff rounds, a little bit of energy is back in the game?

I do. And maybe it’s just the switch of the discipline, going from moto and then going back in the stadium, so it’s just a refreshing time of year.

Having announced your retirement before the playoffs, you have these three rounds. Is there anything special planned so that you can really take in these last three races and the love that you’re going to get from the fans?

I just think about going out to opening ceremonies and seeing a packed stadium. Those are opportunities that I’m not going to really be a part of anymore, so enjoying that moment is going to be very special. You kind of take it for granted when it’s just every weekend, you just do it over and over, but there are only so many times when we’re on the floor and you’re part of that show and, yeah, just being a pro supercross-motocross racer.

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You mentioned it not being an easy decision to make. I’m sure you consulted your parents, and we know they’re a big part of your program. Is there anything from a conversation with your dad that stuck out when you made the call and decided to talk to him?

Yeah, he told me a year or two ago, he’s just, ‘Hey, it’s got to be your decision, but when you’re done, you’ll know when you’re done.’ And that’s basically all I remember. It truly is just up to you. You can have opinions of others in both ears, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to just go with your own decision and what makes you sleep well at night.

What’s it like to be able to have such a long career and do it with the people that you love? I’m sure that makes it a little bit more unique, right?

Yeah. I mean, that’s one very special thing about motocross – you can make it a very neat family environment. And, yeah, somehow we made it all this way doing that.

What are your plans for after retirement? And if you’re going to be farming with your dad, you might want to rethink that career…

Yeah, every time I just hear that song, ‘Make hay for a little pay,’ and I think that’s the truth. What am I going to do? I mean, look, we have our fourth child on the way, so lots of family time at home, and I don’t know exactly yet. That’s why I don’t want to jump into something right away… Just kind of see where life takes me. A lot’s going to change because, yeah, the world isn’t going to revolve around Eli anymore, but I’m looking forward to this next chapter.

Looking at your career – a Hall of Famer, Mount Rushmore, whatever you think – and everything that you’ve done for the teams that you rode for, do you ever put yourself in the light that everybody else sees you in, on a pedestal as you get towards your retirement? Or do you not see yourself as that guy?

That’s a tough question. That’s tough. I guess what’s surprising is I look at 57 Supercross wins and, to me, it’s just kind of hard to believe it, but it is nice to look back now and see that number. It’s pretty crazy when you think of 17 races in a season and how many times you’d have to do that to get to that number, or how many wins you’d have to – you know, how many seasons that takes. So, it’s special, man. But, no, I don’t know. I’m never the guy to… I don’t know where I’m going now, but, yeah, it’s been special.