After watching the first three supercross races of the 2011 season, I'll share with you what I see at this point.
Two riders that have really impressed me so far are Ryan Villopoto and Trey Canard. Looking at their fitness, their riding technique, their ability to get thru traffic on the race track, both are far beyond what I thought they would be.
I knew Ryan would be fast. But when a rider has been away from racing for a while, as he has, sometimes it takes a while to knock off the rust. Ryan has looked great after his heat races - obviously the training with Aldon Baker has helped him a lot. I can see his fitness, how much he is sweating, and his ability to retain his breath and breathing after both his heats and main events. It's visible that Ryan has leaned down together with Aldon, and he's in awesome condition.
I thought it would take Trey Canard at least half a season in the premiere Supercross class to where he was really comfortable. As I watch Trey in these first three races, there are certain section of the different tracks where he is faster than either Villopoto or James Stewart. Once Trey puts together the whole track, and an entire 20 laps like that - look for him to win some races this year.

Moving up from the Lites class to the full time 17 rounds in the premier 450 Supercross class is a big step for any racer. Making it a double whammy, Kyle Regal is also going from Privateer Status to a full Factory Sam Manuel L & M Yamaha ride.
Kyle rode a few 450 Supercross rounds last season, when he wasn?t racing in the Supercross East Coast Lites, but it was this summer Kyle really gained momentum on the 450, finishing ninth in the series final standings.
I was back out at Pala Raceway for something very special. I had already been there for four days for the Finale of the 2010 AMA MX season and the Awards Banquet.
But, as I mentioned, this was something special - the first official get together of Team USA for the 2010 Motocross of Nations. Team Manager Roger De Coster, racers Ryan Dungey, Andrew Short, Trey Canard, and all the support staff needed for an effort like this.

Ryan Dungey, Roger De Coster, Trey Canard, Andrew Short and Mitch Payton
I felt very privileged to be invited to such an event. I soon came to realize that the most unique and moving part of the day was seeing the look of real happiness, the feeling of true honor, and the comraderie for each person involved, as 'The Team' came together for the first time. It was contagious. They seem to be a real 'team' already, working together well, and have great things to say about each other. Again, it was contagious!