Whilst it hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, its believed that Tom Vialle has left the Bakers factory and moved over to the Moto Sandbox facility in Clermont Florida. Moto Sandbox is also the home of Ken Roczen and the current 450 Supercross champ Chase Sexton!
Tom admitted to GateDrop that his training has changed recently in the SMX press conference as Chase Sexton revealed he had been riding with Tom and Ken Roczen (who used to work with Aldon Baker before leaving) to get ready for the new series. Vialle said: “I have been training a little bit and the tracks, I have been moving a little bit. For sure I have changed a few things.”
Anytime a rider leave’s Baker the biggest question on everyone’s lips is, Is this a good move?
Aldon Baker has a reputation as one the best trainers in the business with multiple 450 Championships. However his program does not seem to be one size fits all. Several rides have come and gone over the years, with the most high profile being Ken Roczen who left never to return and Cooper Webb who left and following a lackluster year in 2022 returned in 2023.
Aldons strengths is getting the maximum from a riders body through vigorous fitness, strict diet and hammering motos, this in turn leads to a mental edge. With The 450 class being so tough and often the laps times only separated by a tenth or 100th of a second I can see why top tier riders choose Aldon to get every little edge they can. But whilst Aldons record in the 450 class speaks for itself and there are multiple examples of turning already great riders into exceptional riders, his record for 250 and development riders is somewhat less dazzling.
Two time MX2 world Champion Vialle showed his true potential with an elite level performance at the first round of the inaugural SMX Playoffs at Charlotte Motor Speedway last weekend. In race one he hit the gate and came back to third. In race two he holeshot in a flash back to his MXGP days and took off. Only to be caught and passed later by Joe Shimoda. 3 – 2 scores for second overall against a deep field of 250 riders showed what Vialle is capable of. And I fully believe he has much more in the tank. Vialle had an up and down rookie Supercross Season this year with a season best result of 4th place at Arlington Texas.
The Achilles heel for Vialle, like most Europeans, was his very obvious struggles in the whoops. Interestingly, the SMX race last weekend where he finished second overall was missing a whoop section.
With that all said, is leaving Bakers Factory a good move for Vialle? I truly think so. You don’t live in Belgium and train in Lommel all winter and become a 2 time world champ without elite fitness. Vialle has always been known as a hard worker. His biggest Supercross weakness is the whoops.
I believe getting to ride and train with Ken Rozcen and Chase Sexton, two of the best guys in the whoops will bring Tom on massively. Ken and Tom and both similar height and build, both Europeans and MX2 world Champions. If Ken can take Tom under his wing and work on some Supercross technique I think it will unlock Vialle’s full potential. I’m sure the door to the Bakers factory will always be open to Tom if he wants to return later in his career. But for now, I feel getting to ride with his soon to be Red Bull KTM teammate Chase Sexton and a fast mature Ken Roczen, this is the best place for him to grown and learn from the best.
Article: Stephen Megarry
Image: Align