The RedBud National overall podium finishes for Jalek Swoll and Michael Mosiman were big, but for different reasons. Swoll, in his second year with the Triumph team, landed his first podium finish of the season in just his third race back after a preseason Achilles tendon injury. And Mosiman landed his first podium in almost four years in what has been a career rebuild after he nearly called it quits after injury two years ago.

Swoll had a really strong first year on the Triumph TF 250-X in 2024, finishing eighth in 250SX East in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and seventh in the 250 Class AMA Pro Motocross Championship. Last summer, Swoll earned the team’s maiden U.S. podium at the Unadilla National, when he scored 6-4 for third overall. The 2024 SMX season was all about Triumph racing and getting data. Swoll was not worse on the all-new machine and actually looked to have taken a step forwards, although that mostly went unnoticed by most.

And really, since that Unadilla National podium, Swoll has only raced five times since (not counting the SMX Playoff 1 last September when he crashed off the start and was knocked out on the starting straight less than 10 seconds into the race). One week ago, at The Wick 338, a last-lap crash in moto two cost him about 10 positions from fifth to 15th. At RedBud, just his third start of this year, he got good starts, rode well, and brought it home. His scores landed him third overall. Do not forget, he only had two career overall podiums in Pro Motocross before Saturday. Swoll knows not to take this for granted. Did he expect to land on the podium so fast?

“Not really,” he put it simply in the post-race press conference. “I mean, we came in with the mindset of just trying to get some top tens or whatever. I knew, like, from the way I was riding in [pre-season] boot camp, that I had unlocked a new level of speed that I feel like I could compete with anybody. But when I went down with the Achilles [injury], naw, I mean, I didn't see it. I got back pretty quick for what the injury was. Put a lot of time in. And yeah, honestly, I didn't, but when I got back at High Point, I knew when I got closer to 100 percent, I could be up here. So, I fully believed that. And I just didn't expect to be able to run up front at like 80 percent. So, but that's no knock, the guys are obviously ripping, and everybody's fast right now and everybody's fit. And I think that's where I can really start to progress is when I get my fitness back. Like my fitness is not there. [Laughs] I'm like really digging, the deepest I've ever dug in these motos just to finish. And then after Southwick, I obviously was running fifth and last lap had that crash and yeah, had some other stuff happen but wasn't able to ride this week. So, I just kind of just been making it harder on myself this whole time. [Laughs] But for the most part I'm proud of the progression, and I can only really get better from here, so it's exciting.”

Pretty impressive for Swoll to stand on the podium in front of the rowdy RedBud crowd just a little over half a year after tearing his Achilles tendon. As we learned with Eli Tomac, this is no easy injury to overcome. Plus, Swoll knows riding oneself into shape is not easy nor ideal.  Where does Swoll feel he hits that wall in the motos?

“Well, getting that holeshot in that second motor gave me a little spark of energy,” he said. “Lasted a little bit longer than normal, but normally I'm at like the 15-minute mark with my tongue in the spokes, and I'm just hanging on. [Laughs] So, yeah, I mean, it is what it is. I haven't been able to really train like I'm supposed to, just coming back from injury, and I'm having to cram in testing and all that kind of stuff while I'm doing motos. So, it's been pretty hard and even then I haven't had much time to do motos. So yeah, I mean, I'm just playing with the cards I'm dealt at the moment.

The key for Swoll this year is having teammates. Even though he is not racing at the moment, Stilez Robertson was an integral factor in Swoll’s podium. Last year, Evan Ferry and Joey Savatgy both split from the team, so it was Swoll at the test track and races by himself. This year, he has a few fast teammates in Mikkel Haarup, Austin Forkner, Jordon Smith, and Robertson.

“Yeah, obviously I have a bunch of bunch of teammates now. So, definitely it definitely helps. And, yeah, I mean, I feel like the bike was like completely different, so it was almost hard for me to jump back in because I was almost just kind of getting on whatever they had found throughout the year, and that isn't necessarily the thing that's going to work for all of us, you know? But I was I was given a good package. Obviously, my suspension tech Drew has been killing it, and we've just been hard at work.”

“And obviously, you know, having Stilez, [he] did a lot of the testing for me,” Swoll continued. “We ride pretty similar, so he's able to kind of be my guinea pig right now. [Laughs] And obviously not being able to ride this week, he was able to get on the bike and figure some things out that I was struggling with. And so I was able to come in here and have a few different directions that helped fix it for me. And yeah, we just got a good group and obviously, like I said earlier, not everything kind of just translates to being better, but for the most part those guys being able to kind of just go through a bunch of different parts and just make it to where I don't have to try it. So yeah, it's been nice. It's been good. A complete change of pace from last year, being able to just not have to test every time I race. So, it's been it's been a lot better for me. And I feel like this year it's helped me a lot. Just, I mean, I've only been back for three races, but I can tell the, the steps that we've made in this short time for me.”

Is the bike significantly different from where he left off last summer in Pro Motocross?

“Yes and no,” Swoll said. “I mean, we were just winging it last year, we didn't really know what to expect, where I was the guy on the team and I had to figure it out. And now, like, you just kind of said earlier there, it just makes life a whole lot easier. Like, it's different when you have teammates out there that can just kind of troubleshoot everything. And we all have seem to now start going in some sort of a similar direction. So, it is starting to work out for all of us. And yeah, I feel like the biggest change for me is like we've done a lot of different, like motor position testing. And that seemed to help a lot. So, yeah, I mean, it's only going to get better the more I ride. I haven't, like I said earlier, I just I don't have the riding time right now to really even want to go in left field and make a bunch of changes. I'm kind of riding myself back into shape, so it is hard to come back from practice or whatever and tell them, 'I don't like this, go somewhere else,' you know. So the more I race, the more I'll get comfortable. And that's why I said I can really only get better from here. There's a lot of steps I can take right now in terms of getting more comfortable on the bike and making it easier to race for me. And when I get back able to, you know, do the motos back home with the boys, I'll be able to be able to learn some more.”

It was a strong day from Mikkel Haarup, too, as he landed fourth overall via 8-5 finishes. This race was the first round all summer with a Triumph inside the top five overall, and they landed two in the first five positions from Swoll’s P2 and Haarup’s P4.

"A good weekend for me and us as a team!” Haarup said in a post-race release. “This was a challenging track, but I had two solid motos and great starts. Fourth overall is my best score of the season. I want more of this, so we will continue working."

"What a massive day for us,” said Jeremy Coker, General Manager for Triumph Racing America. “Through practice we were not where we wanted to be, but the team and riders never gave up. I am so very proud of everyone involved. For Jalek to get second overall in his third race back is unreal! Mikkel is getting better and better every week too. Unfortunately, we had a bike issue with Austin in moto one but got it turned around and back on track for moto two. The team will not settle for this and continue to strive for the front."

Jalek Swoll's career overall podiums in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship.

Despite being in a full on rebuild of his career, having some crashes, and a few bike issues, Mosiman has been the second-best rider on the Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team this summer behind championship leader Haiden Deegan. The California native has finishes of 8-10-14-15-4-3 so far this summer through six rounds of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship, racing the outdoor series for the first time since an injury in June 2023. Mosiman commented on the rebuilding process.

“After taking so much time off, you know, you wonder, can you still do it? Can you still get to that speed? And then, there was plenty of days on the track where I was a ways off for even getting to the races and having to just relearn. I mean, it's been three years, since I've really been racing outdoors, like a whole series. So, yeah, it's relearning the tracks relearning where you stack up in the competition. I mean, so many guys have, grown and developed. And granted, here I am with three guys who I could have shared a podium with, you know, three years ago. So, it's just, you wonder, can you still do it and question and doubt, but sticking to the work, trusting that it's going to work out, trusting in what I'm doing. And obviously it's leading to good results. So, I just made a lot of smarter decisions throughout this year. And I still have a lot, a lot of room to grow. And I think that's what's exciting is that I think nobody here is like, 'Oh, Michael's about at his peak.' Like, 'This is the best he's going to get,' Like, 'he's going to top out here.' I don't think anyone would say that. So, it's just an exciting time and continue to try to be mature with when I push and when just bring it home.”

The #93 has been honest lately about not having a contract signed yet for 2026. The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing rider would like to stay with the team for a third consecutive year next season, but nothing is set it stone yet. He did mention though, “Things are looking better and better for me to stay there.” Read his full comments on his contract talks with Star Racing here. Later in the press conference, he joked about not hitting LaRocco’s Leap and that impacting his contract talks.

“I mean, to be fair, I might not have a ride with Star next year because I didn't jump it,” Mosiman said with a laugh. “I heard of three people that did it: I think Haiden [Deegan] clipped just barely his rear wheel. I heard Tom Vialle faced it, and I heard Juju Beaumer landed on top and bounced to the bottom. So that was enough data for me to know that it's not for me.”

Mosiman said, like Swoll, he is excited about landing strong results knowing he is not back to his full potential just yet. Both riders are working back to full race speed. But both riders will remember this one as it was a big step in their journey.

Michael Mosiman's career overall podiums in the AMA Pro Motocross Championship.