{"id":130833,"date":"2026-01-12T23:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T23:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/130833\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T23:43:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T23:43:08","slug":"studs-n-duds-of-anaheim-1-2026-did-we-get-it-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/130833\/","title":{"rendered":"Studs-N-Duds of Anaheim 1 2026 | Did We Get It Right?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The year was 2008. The track was Oak Hill. Somewhere between my 4,000th moto of the week and my will to live, I had a realization: this sport desperately needed a little honesty. Thus, Studs and Duds was born \u2014 a column designed to either put young amateur racers on blast\u2026 or accidentally place them on the proverbial media podium. Either way, feelings were most likely hurt, BUT character was built\u2026.<\/p>\n

Crushing fragile egos became a hobby. A public service, really. Was I a jerk? In retrospect\u2026 probably. But in my defense, this column has been mothballed for the better part of a decade and today felt like the right day to relight the torch. The only difference this time? I\u2019m no longer picking on 9-year-olds.<\/p>\n

Now we\u2019re aiming higher.<\/p>\n

Professionals only. At least, for now. Amateur season is around the corner, so we\u2019ll see how froggy I\u2019m feeling then.<\/p>\n

So without further ado \u2014 and with absolutely no concern for hurt feelings \u2014 welcome back to Studs and Duds, the 2026 Anaheim 1 edition.<\/p>\n

Studs<\/p>\n

\"\"32 Years Old and Crushing Souls Just Like This Article<\/p>\n

Max Anstie (1st)
Nice guys don\u2019t always finish last. Injuries robbed Anstie of a real title run last year, so A1 felt like a big question mark\u2014especially against a stacked West Coast gate. From the press box, though, he looked untouchable. He worked past Hymas early, reeled in Ryder, and once he hit the front, the race was over. Calm. Calculated. In control.
He also became the oldest rider to win a 250SX main, passing John Dowd in the record books. That\u2019s not trivia\u2014that\u2019s history. Absolute STUD.<\/p>\n

Chance Hymas (2nd)
Coming off a second ACL injury, a move back home, a new program at Mesquite, and a very quiet offseason\u2014nobody knew what to expect. The answer came fast: he\u2019s back.
Hymas didn\u2019t have Anstie\u2019s pace, but he was composed, smart, and consistent. He kept himself in the mix all race and walked away with confidence he badly needed. Huge ride to kick off the season.<\/p>\n

Ryder DiFrancesco (3rd)
Ryder entered the pros with massive hype\u2014and fair or not, he hadn\u2019t delivered on it yet. The media went straight at that in the press conference, and Ryder didn\u2019t flinch. Anaheim 1 backed him up.
Yes, he led early and eventually gave way to Anstie and Hymas. Yes, Deegan came charging late. But Ryder never cracked. He held his ground, kept Deegan behind him, and locked down one of the most important podiums of his career\u2014right when he needed it most.<\/p>\n

\"\"Imagine What Beast Mode Will Look Like on This Machine?<\/p>\n

Eli Tomac
SAVAGE.
The doubts about switching to KTM late in his career lasted exactly one night. Tomac said his motivation was proving he could still do this at the highest level. Consider the message delivered\u2014loud and clear.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Twisted Tea Suzuki
Three bikes. Two top fives. Three inside the top 15.
Roczen was the only rider remotely close to Tomac\u2019s pace, and Anderson would\u2019ve been top four if not for a late-race mistake that handed the spot to Hunter Lawrence. Quietly one of the most impressive team performances of the night.<\/p>\n

\"\"Prado Won His Heat Race AND Finished Third in the 450 Main Event<\/p>\n

Jorge Prado
Nobody\u2014and I mean nobody\u2014called this.
Prado took more heat in 2025 than just about anyone, and honestly, it was deserved. He looked defeated. Lost. Like Europe was calling. Instead, he rejoined the manufacturer that built him into a multiple-time world champion, put in the work at Baker\u2019s Factory, and shocked everyone at A1.
This was a ride that reminded the world exactly who Jorge Prado is. Massive. Studly. Statement made.<\/p>\n

The Green Leader Light
I know it\u2019s not new, but it\u2019s worth the mention. From the press box, tracking multiple storylines at once is chaos. Watching Deegan charge while keeping tabs on the lead pack? Nearly impossible\u2014unless you\u2019ve got the green light.
It might be the most underrated improvement to Supercross in the last decade. Absolute game-changer.<\/p>\n

The New Start Time
Angel Stadium was buzzing, East Coast viewership should be strong, and the racing wrapped by 7pm PST.
FELD nailed this one. Easy 10\/10. Stud award earned.<\/p>\n

DUDS<\/p>\n

To soften the blow here fellas, we\u2019ll add some sick images from Octopi Media. Thanks Ryne and Garth. And, please, just know I\u2019m doing my part here. It\u2019s ALL ABOUT MOTIVATION.<\/p>\n

\"\"We All Know He Won\u2019t Be in THIS Section Very Long\u2026<\/p>\n

Haiden Deegan (4th)
\u201cIf you ain\u2019t first, you\u2019re last.\u201d
A poor start and no podium didn\u2019t match the confidence he brought to the press conference, where he made it clear he expected to win\u2014period. His lap times were right there with Hymas and Ryder, but Anstie dropped multiple 1:07s that Deegan simply didn\u2019t have.
It\u2019s only round one, and Deegan is still the favorite\u2014but this race proved the title fight might be a lot more interesting than expected.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Cameron McAdoo (22nd)
Speed? Yes. Endurance? Yes. Style? Absolutely.
Luck? Not so much.
The incident wasn\u2019t his fault\u2014Deegan jumped into his line\u2014but like my mom always said, \u201cIt\u2019s always your fault.\u201d If McAdoo wants to reach his ceiling, he has to keep it on two wheels. Untimely crashes and injuries have defined his career so far, and 2026 is a pivotal year. Anaheim raised more questions than answers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hunter Lawrence (4th)
The setup was perfect: Jett sidelined, Hunter coming off a huge MXoN and a strong close to 2025. This was supposed to be his moment to lead Honda in the 450 class.
Instead, he looked flat. He lost ground to Anderson early, nearly tangled with Webb, and didn\u2019t show urgency until the closing laps\u2014when it was too late. The result is fine. The performance wasn\u2019t. Still a contender, but A1 left a lot unanswered.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Justin Cooper (6th)
It\u2019s starting to feel like Cooper lives just outside the Supercross elite. Always close. Always next year. Always \u201cneeds more time on the 450.\u201d
At some point, that stops being an excuse. He has the talent to be a consistent podium threat\u2014but Anaheim didn\u2019t show it. Put up or shut up time.<\/p>\n

\"\"At least the Sickest Image of the Night Award goes to Mr. Sexton. Steeze Matters.<\/p>\n

Chase Sexton (8th)
Oof.
We won\u2019t overreact after one round\u2014but what we saw wasn\u2019t vintage Sexton. Maybe Prado wasn\u2019t wrong. Maybe it was the Kawasaki all along. Too early to draw conclusions, but A1 definitely raised an eyebrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The year was 2008. The track was Oak Hill. Somewhere between my 4,000th moto of the week and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":["post-130833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/130834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}