2019 Monster Energy Cup Guide: Supercross In Las Vegas

2019 Monster Energy Cup Guide:

How To Watch, Plus Rider Quotes and News

Supercross returns to Las Vegas for the 2019 Monster Energy Cup, giving fans extra opportunities to enjoy the event. Our 2019 Monster Energy Cup Guide will help you get the most out of this once-a-year race.

American viewers can watch the Pre-Show beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET. It will be streamed on SupercrossLive.com and is available without a subscription.

At 10 p.m. ET, the 2019 Monster Energy Cup begins airing on NBCSN, as well as the nominally commercial-free NBC Sports Gold paid subscription service.

Further, coverage is available on October 21, as the Supercross Futures National Championship will be streamed on SupercrossLive.com at 10:30 a.m. ET.

At the Friday press conference, last year’s million-dollar winner Eli Tomac said, “It’s going to be tough, and the kicker this year is we’re going a different direction in one of the motos. We have the three different starts, so, really, it’s going to be a huge weekend of focus and just being ready for each challenge, and that’s each race. We’ve got something thrown at us each time, and the good old Joker Lane’s there still.”

2019 MXGP World Champion Tim Gajser will be racing at the Monster Energy Cup after taking last year off. “I’m super excited to be here again since 2017,” Gajser said at the pre-race press conference. “This year, we came a little bit earlier to do a bit more riding and testing on the Supercross track, and I just can’t wait to get on the track. It’s completely different. In motocross, we do motos for 35 minutes all the time, during the year, during practice and races, but here it’s like way shorter, and the way you set up the bike is completely different, but I’m excited and looking forward to it.”

Two-time Supercross Champion Chad Reed returns to racing after taking the summer off. “I think it’s going to be interesting. As a rider, you evolve through the weekend, you always put your eggs in the basket for getting strong for the motos, but that’s not going to be the case this weekend. It’s kind of like you’re going to have to learn and get up to speed because you’ve got three different racetracks, but I think it’s going to be fun.” Reed is referring to the format of running the track backward for one of the three Main events of the night.

Jeremy Martin and Malcolm Stewart will be hitting the Supercross track after long absences due to injury.

“It was a really long time,” Martin observed, “three back surgeries and gnarly infections, but we’re here, and we’re healthy and ready to get back doing what I love to do. It’s just been day-by-day with the rehab and with riding the dirt bike and stuff, but last week I’m just like, ‘I’m not feeling too bad.’”

Stewart concurred, saying, “It feels good to be back. Nine months? That felt like five years to me. But I’m just looking forward to being back, getting my feet wet. I’m so glad to be here at the Monster Energy Cup. For me, it’s just go out there and have fun and enjoy the race.”

2019 AMA 250MX Champion Adam Cianciarulo will be taking on the 450 riders in the premier class for the first time in his career. “I just want to come out here and ride my best,” Cianciarulo said, “put myself in position and just get some experience out front riding with those guys, and ultimately I just want to ride good, so we’ll see where that puts me.”

Other riders to watch at the 2019 Monster Energy Cup include Justin Barcia, Aaron Plessinger, Jordi Tixier, and Dean Wilson.

Also announced at the pre-race press conference is the availability of the Monster Energy Supercross 3 video game on February 4, 2020. “After great success with the previous game, more than 53,000 tracks were created by our passionate community, the Track Editor is back and it’s better than ever: new modules and new stadium items to customize tracks in a unique way,” according to a Feld Entertainment spokesman referring to the milestone-developed game. “Thanks to brand new aesthetic customization items, such as Touch Block, Finish Gates, or Leader Pillars, players can now enhance realism and immersion of their custom tracks.” The game features 100 riders and 15 stadiums.

New technology will be tested at the 2019 Monster Energy Cup. Riders will be able to use Cardo Packtalk Bold communication devices, which allow the riders and their teams can speak to each other during the race. Previously, the only available contact source was pit boards.

Photography by Will Embree