Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Julien Beaumer has quickly worked his way back toward the front of the pack in the 2026 Pro Motocross Championship, and on Saturday broke through for his first-career 250MX overall victory at Spring Creek – a landmark result after overcoming a nine-month injury layoff. Hear from the 20-year-old as he reflects on his milestone weekend in this Debrief feature.

Image: Octopi Media.

Winning the overall

What a day. That first moto, I felt just amazing. I was able to be patient early on and, about the halfway mark, I really put in a good push. When I saw there were two laps to go, I saw the gap and knew I had some areas where I could pick it up and probably close it. The second moto, I struggled a little bit. They watered the track quite a bit, and I struggled with trusting the bike early on. Towards the end of the moto, I started to get going, and then I tried to make a pass in a tricky spot, made a mistake and went down. Overall, to get this first overall win is like a monkey off my back, and I’m ready to come out swinging at Washougal.

Second moto crash

I’m going to tell you, I’m getting a little frustrated with my rear brake rotor because it burnt my ass, and my finger is just now recovering from RedBud when it burnt my finger, [laughs]. We need to put a guard on that thing or something because it hasn’t been my friend lately. I sat pretty much right on the rear wheel and just burnt my ass. Other than that, it was fine.

Image: Octopi Media.

Racing to 1-4 scores

Yeah, obviously I knew that the guys in front of me didn’t have a great first moto, so I was kind of fine with where I was at. I just wanted to get maybe a couple of extra points by making that pass. When I got up, I wasn’t too worried, other than my ass hurt. Other than that, I wasn’t really too worried, I kind of knew I had the overall. I saw the guys behind me and knew I was in a pretty good spot, so I just tried to stay calm over those last two laps and not do anything that would put me back on the ground.

Coming back from injury

Yeah, I think everything was running through my mind after the crash in Charlotte last year. It was kind of one of those things where, obviously, in the past, leading into the season, I’ve had maybe one or two top-five overalls and maybe one top-five moto finish. The odds were kind of against me coming into a series that I’m not the best in, coming off a nine-month-long injury that, back in April, I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to line up for round one. It just shows how much work me and the team have put in. From when I was cleared to start training off the bike in January, I pretty much told myself, ‘I’m going to put everything I have into this. I don’t care what I’ve got to go through or what I have to do.’ It’s showing right now, so to get through that one was amazing.

What’s changed since that injury

I wouldn’t say I’m working harder, but I would say I’m a little bit more disciplined. I just look at things a little differently now. Obviously, consistency is everything, from the moment I was able to start training again, I treated my camp as if everything had to be perfect, and I’m still the same right now. Everything during the week has to be perfect for me to be the best I can be on the weekends. I think I just have a different perspective now. I look at things a little differently, and I did a lot of studying while I was hurt. I think I have a little bit more of an understanding of how my body needs to feel and the things I need to do to be the best version of myself on Saturdays. So, yeah, I’m really happy with where we’re at.

Image: Octopi Media.

Going to a new level outdoors

Yeah, 100 percent. It’s actually weird because during the week, I wouldn’t say I’m crazy fast.
For me, when I still had the hardware in and started riding again on a little turn track, my dad was very focused on, ‘Hey, we can’t push, but let’s just focus on technique. Let’s try to build your foundation a little bit better.’ I spent four weeks basically cruising around, working on my foot placement and things like that. When I came back and was able to fully start riding after the surgery, I think that was the biggest thing that had hurt me in the beginning. I just didn’t have a great foundation outdoors. It was something I was able to work on a lot in the lead-up to this, and I think that’s why I’m where I’m at right now.

Studying during time off

Rewatching races, watching Jett and Hunter [Lawrence], the two best guys, and trying to see where their feet are and the things they do differently. Aside from that, a lot of nutrition stuff. Electrolytes, the supplements you put in your body, vitamins, things like that. Just trying to really maximize myself. I sat there, looked things up, and read articles on how to perform the best that I can. I think right now I’m at a point where I have a really good program and a really good schedule that I don’t step out of. My body is responding extremely well. I knew coming into the season it was going to be trial and error. I was going to have to try things and see where I was at. But for the last three or four weeks, I’ve been on a program where I eat at the same time, and everything’s almost perfect. It’s showing.