Fresh from his first outing on the 450 and debut aboard the Honda CR-F at the Paris Supercross, Tom Vialle sat down with Kevin Frelaud, who kindly shared this interview with us. The Frenchman opened up about adapting to the new bike, the intensity of racing in Paris, his return to MXGP for 2026, and what he learned from his time racing in America.
Tom, here we are – first race on the 450, first race on the CR-F at the Paris Supercross. What’s your assessment of the weekend?
Vialle: It was honestly pretty good, I’m quite happy with the riding. We started the weekend badly with that long jump in the first main. In the rhythm section I took a big hit to the jaw, but we recovered well. I feel like my pace was actually really good in the races. I had some good motos, so I’m quite pleased. I’m happy about the last start too – getting the holeshot and leading three laps was cool.
I was a bit tired in the last one. My legs were already pretty fatigued in the second main. Paris is really a long weekend – in Supercross I think it’s the longest race there is. Normally we only race one day, never two. Especially on Saturday when it finishes very late and you don’t really get time to sleep properly before Sunday, so it’s not easy.
And like you said, it was the first race on the 450 with a new bike and new team. There were so many things happening for me this weekend, but I think we did the best we could, so that’s cool.
What exactly happened in that first rhythm section in the first main? You came up massively long and ran into Jett. Did you forget you were on a 450? [laughs]
Vialle: I’m not really sure! I just gave it a tiny bit too much gas – like a quarter of a second too long. I went long, hit my head on the bars before bouncing and running into Jett. Honestly, I don’t even know what happened.
So what motivated this return to MXGP in 2026? It’s not common to see someone go to the US, have that much success, and then come back.
Vialle: Yeah, I heard I’m the first one to do that. Usually riders make that move at the end of their career: they go to the USA and then come back to finish up in Europe. I’m really happy to have come back, and also to have the chance to do Supercross in the winter to keep that skillset. My goal is to win an MXGP title one day.
Was returning to MXGP something you thought about while you were in the US, or did this come about simply because an opportunity arrived that you couldn’t refuse?
Vialle: More the second. I got a very good offer from Honda that made me rethink my plans. As I said, for me the move to the 450 was very important. I wanted to have the best option possible – team, bike, everything and Honda HRC is the best complete option I had for 2026.
And how was American life? In GPs you’d go to the French GP and it was crazy, everyone was there for you. In the US, did you feel a bit on your own against Goliath? As a foreigner you wouldn’t necessarily have the fans on your side.
Vialle: Exactly. But it’s the same for everyone. All the French riders who go over there – all foreigners really – live the same thing. It’s a bit like Americans coming to race the French championship. We’re the foreigners, the “expats” as they call us. Mentally, it’s very hard. You have to stay strong to beat them, or even just to play with them. It’s not easy.
But life there was great – I made a lot of friends so that part was cool. I really loved living in Florida. I’ll definitely miss the weather because it was always nice. It was really cool and I’ll probably miss American life a little, but when you set goals, that feeling passes quickly and you refocus on training to make sure everything goes well.
Where will you be based now? I’ve heard the Honda HRC team is building a new workshop.
Vialle: Yeah, I think they’re building a training facility in the Netherlands so the riders can go there to train and have a place to store bikes. But I will live in France.
What were your first impressions of the Honda after so long on the KTM? It must have been a big change.
Vialle: For sure. A lot of changes and also a lot of stress on the first day. The first time on the Honda was really not long ago – not even a month – and everything went very fast. But I was pretty happy because I had really good sensations as soon as I got on the bike.
The MXGP level next year is going to be insane. I counted 18 world titles – combined – behind the same start gate in 2026. What’s the mindset going into it?
Vialle: Yeah, it’s crazy. I think everyone will be watching the GP’s next year because it’s going to be incredible. There’s really going to be a battle between two generations – the older guys and the younger ones. So it’s going to be really cool and I think the more good riders there are, the better it will be for the show.
How do you look back on your three years in the US? You went there with the goal of winning a Supercross title. In the end, you took two. You showed up, won two titles, and left – like a mic drop.
Vialle: Yeah, totally [laughs]. My goal was to win in Supercross – that’s really why I went to the USA. Honestly, what I did was incredible. Two titles in three years is very difficult and I’m really proud that I managed that, even if I would’ve liked to win an outdoor title too. But now, moving to the 450 is really the priority. Whether it was in Europe or the US or anywhere, I wanted the best bikes and the best equipment. I had that opportunity, so I took it.
Which titles were harder to win – MX2 world titles or US Supercross titles?
Vialle: Hmm… they’re really different. Supercross is a lot of pressure until the end because it’s short and you never know what can happen. So that championship brings a lot of stress. There are so many good riders split across the two coasts and when there’s an East/West showdown, you never know what’s going to happen or who’ll win. There’s a lot of pressure in Supercross.
If I ask you what caused you the biggest day-to-day problems in the US, what would you say?
Vialle: I don’t know. Good question. I’d say the organisation in general. I was a bit alone. I was very often in Florida alone with my brother and my father. So it really wasn’t easy in terms of team organisation because it was very different to what I was used to at KTM in Europe. KTM Europe is much more professional, structured. In the US everything was more relaxed, if you want to call it that. Basically, there was nobody with me there. So it wasn’t simple on the organisational side with the team.
Right. I’d have thought with Ian Harrison and Roger de Coster it would’ve been super structured, because that’s the image they have.
Vialle: That’s what I thought too, but actually no, not at all. We were really on our own, left in Florida. I honestly never saw them – only on race weekends. Nobody from the team came to Florida, so I was kind of on my own. They might come once or twice a year. On that side of things, it was pretty complicated.
We saw Jorge Prado go through a very tough first year in the US. You went through that adaptation – on a 250. Jorge was a huge topic this season. Seeing him struggle so much, were you surprised or did you just think: “welcome to the real world, Jorge”?
Vialle: Honestly, I knew it was going to be very hard. Especially since Jorge went straight to the 450. I think what he chose was mission impossible. He probably didn’t realise. I really hope he can win one day. But the level in the US in Supercross is very high. I hope he can win one day, even just one main – that would already be something great. Riding Supercross is one thing – fine, you can do it. But making that jump on the 450… you have to ride so hard, so fast, and it’s very tough. Again, I hope he can achieve what he wants. I think his goal is to win, so I wish him success.
When you went to the US, you brought your GP experience with you. Now you’re doing the opposite and coming back to GPs. What will you bring back from that experience?
Vialle: For sure there’s a lot of experience I’ll be able to use. The level of competition in the US is very high. I’ve had some very difficult races and they’ll help me. Like we said earlier, there will be many good riders in MXGP next season, so I think it’ll help me face the competition.
Do you know which pre-season internationals you’ll be doing? There are three being organised in France!
Vialle: No, I’m not sure yet. I know I’ll be doing some but I haven’t chosen which ones. They must have contacted my dad but I haven’t spoken with them. For now it’s still a bit early to know.
