How to hit supercross whoops with double 250 SX champion Tom Vialle

The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing FIM Motocross World Champion and 2024-2025 AMA 250SX #1 explains how he learnt to deal with one of the most difficult aspects of Supercross.

By Adam Wheeler

The newly crowned 250 East Supercross champion - Tom Vialle. PC: Align Media

Nine, 3ft equally spaced ‘washboard’ bumps form one of the most feared areas of a supercross circuit. The ‘whoops’ is a section of track that can be worth almost a second a lap to the most accomplished and bravest racer who can plough across. AMA Supercross is a component of the Supermotocross championship and is arguably the United States’ most popular motorcycle racing series. It takes place for 17 rounds in less than 20 weeks and combs the length and breadth of America, drawing crowds up to 60,000 in some states and TV/Streaming audiences of around half a million per race.

The AMA Supercross races reach an audience of up to half a million people. PC: Align Media

Red Bull KTM have two riders in the 450SX class (with the KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION), and one each in the 250SX divisions (KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITIONs) that contest 8 events orientated to the east and west regions of the country. Tom Vialle, a 24-year-old from Avignon, France, moved to the U.S for 2023 after winning the 2020 and 2022 FIM MX2 World Championships. Tom progressed swiftly and grasped the 2024 250SX East title and recently defended the #1 plate. Vialle had to stare at the difficulty of the whoops and hone his skills quickly, compared to a legion of homegrown racers who had developed the technique at a young age. Considering his swift induction and acclimatisation from motocross, Tom is ideally placed to provide some relatable context for supercross ‘skimming’… 

Moving from France to the US was a big step for Tom Vialle, but one that paid off. PC: Align Media

“Whoops are a big part of any supercross track and there are many different types…

Also, the dirt: if they are dry or tacky, and then this changes the traction. If they are dry then you need to come into the whoops as fast as possible and you cannot give too much gas otherwise you’ll just wheelspin. If they are tacky or soft then you can enter with normal speed and open the throttle more to avoid that wheelspin. Every rider wants traction. The best approach is to hit them as hard as possible but that’s pretty hard to do! When the whoops are brand new then they are more fun but the reality comes in the main event when they are rougher and unlevelled, then you have to adapt your technique.

The Whoops section at the 2025 Supercross in Denver. PC: Align Media

What technique for whoops?...

You can jump through them or skim them. Last year, in 2023, I jumped a lot and this year I’ve been skimming. When the whoops are brand-new it is easier to skim and stay on top. I prefer skimming but it depends a lot on the dirt. If the whoops are breaking down but the dirt is grippy then jumping is good. If they are really dry, then skim them. The build of the whoops is a factor too: by that I mean the shape and the length. You need time to learn and to understand how the bike will react. If you miss one, then you need to know how to handle it. I think my story is pretty good because two-three years ago I couldn’t do whoops at all and now I’m pretty OK! It’s a lot of time and training. Understand the bike first and once you have that then you can work on your own technique to be better.

There are two ways to handle whoops: jumping and skimming. PC: Align Media

I think the best body position is to keep your head above and perpendicular to the bars, and your elbows high…

You should try to put your body more towards the back of the bike but it cannot be too far or you’ll miss some whoops with your front wheel. If you watch videos of the best guys from the past-and-present then they have this action stance of their head over the bars and their ass as far back as possible. The placement of your feet is really important for traction and again they want to be back on the pegs and tucked in. I think some guys even fix their footpegs by 5-10mm more to the rear for this.

Why does it take so long to get them right…?

I don’t know…but maybe it’s because the whoops can be so different. For instance, if you look at a supercross triple jump then there is more-or-less one way to build it, or they are the same every race: we could almost close our eyes and jump it! But that’s not true for the whoops. You need to get used to how to ride them and then must adapt on the night. You can train as much as you can for whoops, and I do, but usually for mid-week practice there are only a couple of us on track whereas at a race there are maybe 80-90 riders and they get beat-up very quickly. You can only ‘find out’ about whoops at the races. 

Whoops are important, but to become a champion, you need to handle all parts of the race. PC: Align Media

Getting a whoops section right can win time…but they can also be a nightmare…

If you are struggling then you start to doubt them and it becomes even harder but if you are skimming and feeling good then it gives confidence. Of course, you can save a ‘moment’ but you will crash at some point in the whoops and I have crashed a lot! That’s important to understand the limit and the limit of what the bike will handle. We’ve all seen the best guys crash in the whoops, so it shows how tough it is. It’s quite a mental game, and you have to commit to go through them.”

KTM NEWS

RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING AND AARON PLESSINGER LAND HANGTOWN 450MX PODIUM

Afficher le profil
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Aaron Plessinger charged to a convincing 2-3 scorecard at the Hangtown National on Saturday afternoon, earning his first AMA Pro Motocross Championship podium result of the 2025 season amidst the high temperatures endured this weekend in Northern California. Round 2 began with Plessinger posting the fourth fastest 450MX qualifying time, before powering his KTM 450 SX-F FACTORY EDITION to the front of the pack in Moto 1. Upon holding position until the closing stages of the race, ‘The Cowboy’ would claim what was a hard-fought second-place after misjudging the time left on the clock. As temperatures continued to rise, Plessinger commenced Moto 2 by climbing his way into P3, which is where he would remain for the race to take second place on the podium overall for the event, and move into P2 in the 450MX standings after two rounds. Aaron Plessinger: "We’ve made some really good progress as a team outdoors and I feel like I have a great motocross bike underneath me. I felt good in that first moto and I wanted to see how long I could go out front knowing that it was really hot, but I misjudged the timing of when the race would end, unfortunately. That was a bit disappointing, but the second moto we went after it again, I made the pass on Hunter [Lawrence] for third, then I got really hot out there in the conditions. Second overall on the day, I’m pumped with that, and hoping it’s a little cooler next weekend!” Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Julien Beaumer began his weekend with an eighth-place finish onboard his KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION in the opening 250MX encounter, before improving to fourth position in Moto 2, and sealing fourth overall for the Hangtown National. After two solid results across the first two rounds, Beaumer has climbed P3 in the point standings. Julien Beaumer: "It was a solid day for me at Hangtown. Fourth overall was a little unexpected after P8 in Moto 1, but we made some changes for Moto 2 and I felt better, which was good. My fitness was good with how hot the weather was, so it was a good end to the day, and I’m excited for Thunder Valley.” After running up front during the early stages of Moto 1 equipped with his KTM 250 SX-F FACTORY EDITION, an untimely fall drew an early end to the race for 250MX teammate Tom Vialle. The double world champion rebounded to an eighth-place finish in Moto 2 despite being impacted by a poor gate pick, salvaging a haul of valuable championship points. Tom Vialle: "Not the weekend I expected. I was running fourth in Moto 1, and then I had a crash about four laps in and couldn’t finish the moto, unfortunately. I hurt my elbow pretty badly, but we lined up for the second race and I had last gate pick because of the first race. I got a bad start and then came back to eighth, so I salvaged some points towards the championship, and I will be back to 100 percent for Colorado.” Next Race: June 7 – Thunder Valley, Colorado Results 450MX Class – Hangtown National 1. Jett Lawrence (Honda) 2. Aaron Plessinger (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 3. Justin Cooper (Yamaha) 7. RJ Hampshire (Husqvarna) 10. Malcolm Stewart (Husqvarna) Standings 450MX Class 2025 after 2 of 11 rounds 1. Jett Lawrence, 95 points 2. Aaron Plessinger, 79 3. Eli Tomac, 78 8. RJ Hampshire, 56 12. Malcolm Stewart, 36 Results 250MX Class – Hangtown National 1. Haiden Deegan (Yamaha) 2. Jo Shimoda (Honda) 3. Levi Kitchen (Kawasaki) 4. Julien Beaumer (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 11. Casey Cochran (GASGAS) 17. Tom Vialle (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) 18. Ryder DiFrancesco (GASGAS) Standings 250MX Class 2025 after 2 of 11 rounds 1. Haiden Deegan, 100 points 2. Jo Shimoda, 88 3. Julien Beaumer, 67 6. Tom Vialle, 52 13. Casey Cochran, 39 18. Ryder DiFrancesco, 27