ANAHEIM, California: Change is coming with the Triumph Factory Team and with that change, Jalek Swoll believes his time for a win is coming too.
The plan at the beginning of the debut season for Triumph was to field a three-rider team in 2024. Swoll was scheduled to be joined by Evan Ferry in the stadium series and they would add Joey Savatgy in Pro Motocross. Ferry was injured early in the year and did return. Savatgy made a handful of starts, but when the team delayed the introduction of a 450 to the lineup, which was scheduled to debut in 2025, Savatgy left to find a ride that better suited his needs.
For 2025, Triumph added Austin Forkner, Jordon Smith, and Stilez Robertson.
“This year, I want to get a first win,” Swoll said in the annual media days for the Monster Energy Supercross Series. “I think that it’s time. I also feel it’s really capable and again I know that because of the guys [who] are here 1733427589 and I can really see the speed.
“Who doesn’t want to be first? It’s an individual sport at the end of the day, but if I race East I won’t get the opportunity to be first anyway. It is what it is. I mean, it’s a team at the end of day, I want the team to do good. And these guys, I see them bust their a** every day. I want these guys to get a win no matter what.
“Honestly, I don’t even really care if someone gets a win before me or not. I know my time is coming.”
Swoll spent most of 2024 practicing alone. He did not have teammates to add to the dialogue and contribute their two cents on setup changes. That was a mixed blessing.
“Riding alone is pretty tough for the most part,” Swoll said. “You’ve got some certain individuals that can do it, but I made everything out of what I had a really good track. … Everything for me, was just staying the course, grinding it out.
“It’s nice to be around people and get that actual push, but honestly with it being brand new it was almost better for me to be able to just kind of learn — focus on myself every day and the bike and what I can make better. On that aspect, it was almost a blessing in disguise to be alone. But now that I have teammates here and I’m transitioning to my second year here and I’m more comfortable. It’s been awesome being able to ride with Smitty, Styles, Forkner. I’ve got some good pace and I know that because the guys I’m around.”
In four seasons at the professional level, Swoll has emerged as a leader of the Triumph team — not that riders with the depth of experience as Forkner and Smith need leadership. But Swoll’s experience on the new bike gives him a different level of understanding as to its needs.
“We started from literally nothing,” Swoll said. “Those guys get to come in and experience most of what I’ve been able to cut out that wasn’t working, so they had a pretty good platform to start on The bike is awesome for me as soon as I got on [it], I was pretty comfortable. Obviously, when you go racing and different track conditions and the way things break down, we had to learn. There were tons of rounds where I wasn’t as comfortable as I thought I could be — that was just trial and error.
“With the new guys coming in, it’s cool to see these guys come in from really good teams and bikes that can bring different input other than just me from where I’m at That’s helped me a lot actually. Seeing those guys be able to kind of find little things that I didn’t necessarily know wasn’t the best and then bring in some of their knowledge to fix those things.
That was one half of the equation. The other half is being realized during the 2024 – 2025 off season.
“I get to come along and try some of those things that they felt were better in other places,” Swoll continued. “It’s been really good for me to build off the knowledge they’re bringing.”
And so the topic returns to that first win.
Swoll came agonizingly close on a couple of occasions. A few mechanical failures that are inevitable with a new dirt bike racing manufacturer reduced his opportunities. Minor mistakes in a race or two took a couple of other chances away, but Swoll gave Triumph its first top-five in the Nashville, Tennessee Supercross race and its first podium late in the Pro Motocross season, finishing third at Unadilla.
It’s only a matter of time before the brand gets their first win.
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