Jeremy McGrath. Ricky Carmichael. Travis Pastrana. And now, Ryan Villopoto?
While it might be a little early to put him among the best riders ever to compete, Villopoto is certainly making a strong case as to why he should be included with such elite company. The 25-year-old might definitely be the most recognizable name currently in a sport with little mainstream presence, but the Poulsbo, Wash. native tries to let his bike do the talking for him.
After sweeping the 450-class at the Lake Elsinore National, the Monster Energy Kawaski rider finished with eight victories in 12 rounds this season and won 18 of 24 motos. The wins were good enough to give Villopoto the 2013 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship, his second in the last three years.
“With the great team that I have behind me, we were really able to turn the ship and go in the right direction with tuning the bike this season,” he told the Associated Press.
It was just one more accomplishment for Villopoto, whose career highlights have already included Rookie of the Year, five-time US National Motocross Champion and three-time Supercross Champion. After seven years of riding, those are impressive numbers and prove that he’s got the talent to be successful in the sport, in a variety of classes. But is he the sport’s dominant rider?
All signs seem to point to yes and while all-around he might be, in Motocross’ “middleweight division”, the 450-class, we aren’t quite ready to put him in a league of his own – given just two championships.
The competition in the 450-class continues to evolve and last season’s champion – and this year’s second place finisher – Ryan Dungey will prove to be a worthy opponent for the foreseeable future.
At 23, Dungey has a lengthy list of all-around accomplishments as well, including Rookie of the Year, two 450-class Motocross championships and a Supercross championship. In fact, he’s one of the few riders to ever win both Motocross and Supercross championships in the same season – and the only to do so as a rookie, which he accomplished back in 2010. Race by race, Dungey seems to be the only rider that can consistently give Villopoto a run for his money, making for exciting finishes.
Villopoto might not be quite the dominating presence just yet but if he can stay healthy, he will be well on his way. That might not be easy in the upcoming months, however, as he’s scheduled to have knee surgery in the offseason. It likely won’t affect his riding and Villopoto is excited for what’s next.
“We’ll be back on the bike before you know it and we’ll be focused on the prep for Supercross,” he added. “We’ll go to the Monster Energy Cup to see where we’re at and what we need to work on and after that A1 will be right around the corner.”
Is he the best rider Motocross has ever seen – not even close. Is he the most dominant rider in Motocross – not just yet. But he’s certainly on his way.
Ed is an MMA/Extreme Sports contributor for CraveOnline Sports. You can follow him on Twitter @PhillyEdMiller, and subscribe at Facebook.com/CraveOnlineSports.
Photo Credit: Getty
