Anaheim 1 is like the first day of school for supercross. It’s key for riders to establish themselves and their posse, making sure they stay on the correct side of the cool/uncool line. What happens on that first day can set the tone for the entire year, so everyone comes ready with new threads, new rides, new friends, new attitudes and new actions. Bullies, especially, can use the first day of school to create a mental advantage over their peers, and in no sport is establishing the mental game more important than supercross.

It’s odd, then, that Ricky Carmichael, the one rider who has crushed more spirits and bullied more riders into accepting inferiority than anyone, has never won Anaheim 1. It’s a race designed to show your competition what you have, but Ricky Carmichael never seems to play his full hand. This year, though, it seemed like Ricky was fully focused on the task of finally taking it.

After all, RC planned on running a part-time schedule this year, so he could have raced wherever and whenever, or just simply never. But his plan included no break time at all leading to A1. He raced the Rockstar Energy Drink U.S. Open, and he raced the two Amp’d Mobile World SX events in Canada, even winning in Vancouver. He had all the momentum for A1, and there was no need to hang back and finish consistently for points. He wasn’t going for the title, anyway.

But then, Ricky threw all that momentum away at the pre-race press conference. He said flatly that retiring without taking an Anaheim 1 win wouldn’t really matter that much to him. Why?

Ricky’s legacy as the Greatest Of All-Time was pretty much solidified when he managed to defeat James Stewart and Chad Reed for 450 championships over the last two years. But just like any kid on the first day of school, Ricky is still wary of his rep. Exposing how much he wanted this win, and then not getting it, would be a sign of weakness. A clue that maybe Stewart had figured him out. Ricky is so good that he isn’t judged by the standard of being only as good as your last race. His rep was safe. Yet still, just in case he lost, he wasn’t letting anyone get an inch on him.

But when the gate finally dropped for A1 2007, it was on. Reed had crashed testing at the Yamaha track a few days before the event, leaving him with a laundry list of injuries that threatened to keep him out of the race altogether. Then he crashed in his heat race and hurt himself some more. Yet he stepped up when he needed to in the main, pulling the Progressive Direct Holeshot and riding like a healthy man. It was impressive.

Stewart and Carmichael worked their way to the front and eventually dispatched Reed, but the Aussie put up one heck of a fight. This was the first day of school, and Reed was not about to let any potential bullies beat up on him.

Then it was on between Ricky and James. This had become a friendly war, years removed from the bitter and sometimes dirty run ins they had in the past. Now it was just two riders going all out, because they wanted it a whole lot more than they said they did.

Stewart began pulling a lead, but he crashed on the finish-line jump, handing RC the lead. Finally, his 0-7 A1 jinx looked to be over.

But this was the first day of school, and Stewart wouldn’t roll over either. He put on a charge and got back to Carmichael, and then pulled off a fitting pass, scrubbing height off of his leap with his patented low-jump style. It was so spectacular that RC had to look over and steal a glance, getting a perfect view of the next-level technique that makes Stewart so darned fast.

Before the race, Stewart had said he would be happy just to get a second place, or just to score some points. He sure wasn’t riding like he would accept anything but a win.

Same for Carmichael. Stewart had him on speed, as he attacked the corners and jumps both faster and smoother than RC. But Carmichael hung it out a little more to keep up. Carmichael knew this was his last chance to win Anaheim 1, and even if he didn’t say he cared, he did, and he went for it. Eventually, he crashed trying to keep up.

Stewart crossed the finish with a thrilling win, confident knowing none of the other kids were able to stand up to him. Both he and Carmichael had shown they were more than just bullies. Bullies use mental games to make them seem tougher than they really are. After 20 laps at Anaheim, there was no doubt that both Ricky and James were the real deal.