For much of the 2026 Monster Energy 250 East Supercross schedule, Cole Davies has been laser-focused. In 2025, Davies' first professional season, he was simply happy to be part of the traveling show; in 2026, his demeanor was significantly different.
"It's been a stressful one, but I'm good now," Davies said following his fifth 250 victory. "It's been a long, stressful season, but I'm stoked to get it done.
The term meteoric is often used with questionable authenticity, but if it does not apply to Davies' supercross career, it should be retired from sports reporting.
Four years ago, Davies was racing in his native New Zealand. He won the Nationals there in 2022 and immediately set his sights on the United States and the pinnacle of dirt bike racing.
In 2023 and 2024, he raced in the SMX Futures division, now rebranded as SMX Next. He won in that class twice during 2025, at Angel Stadium near the beginning of the season and Salt Lake City in the finale.
"It's all happened pretty quickly," Davies said. "Four years ago, I was racing the New Zealand Nationals. It's pretty crazy to say, but where I am now, it's been a long journey. All the hard work and all the sacrifices have paid off for me to get here, so everything's going well."
Podiums came quickly in the 250 West division in 2024. Davies finished third in his third attempt.
His first victory came four weeks later in Seattle. The following week, he won an East/West Showdown race in Philadelphia and was on his way to a third consecutive victory the following week before he was pushed off track by teammate Haiden Deegan on the white flag lap of the penultimate race in Denver.
Davies was Deegan's closest competitor, and a Denver victory for Davies would have forced the Championship to be settled the following week in Salt Lake City. Instead, Davies was sidelined with a broken arm and nose until midway through the Pro Motocross season the following season.
In 2026, Monster Energy Star Racing separated the two riders, with Davies competing in the East and Deegan in the West. That strategy paid off with a sweep of the divisional championships. Deegan clinched the Western title three weeks ago with a victory in the St. Louis East/West Showdown.
Haiden Deegan clinches 250 SX West championship with St. Louis East/West Showdown win
Haiden Deegan is out for revenge after being stripped of the victory in the first East/West Showdown.
"It means everything to me," Davies said of the 250 East title. "I've kind of spent my whole life coming towards this moment. All the sacrifices my family has made to get me here have paid off."
The next time Davies and Deegan square off in competition will be in the 2026 season finale and the final East/West Showdown in Salt Lake City. This time around, nothing is at stake for either rider except pride.
Deegan will climb on a 450 for the Pro Motocross season. Davies has one year to defend his 250 championship before he will be required to move into the premier class in 2028.
But the last thing on Davies' mind following the 2026 Philadelphia win was racing Deegan mano y mano. He wants to win in Salt Lake City because it's a major race and will add to his personal record book, but mostly he's basking in the experience of this title.
"It will be what it is when we get there," Davies replied to a question of any pending rivalry with Deegan. "It might be a battle; might not. Anyway, I'm going to celebrate this, and this means everything to me, but it's nice that I wrapped it up earlier. I'll be able to do some testing outdoors and focus on outdoors a lot more now, instead of actually going to the last round focusing [on the Supercross title]."