VVOLUME 58 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 9, 2021 P75
Grant got off to a slow start, finishing
fifth-fastest in test one.
Meanwhile, XC Gear/Enduro Engi-
neering/Husqvarna's Ryder Lafferty was
third in the test, ahead of FMF/KTM's
Ben Kelley.
DeLong turned in his best test of the
day in test two by turning the fastest time,
three seconds ahead of Kelley.
Meanwhile, the Baylors dropped off
the pace in test two, with Steward finish-
ing sixth and Grant finishing fourth, how-
ever, the dynamic duo would dominate
the remainder of the race, as the two rid-
ers accounted for all four of the remain-
ing test wins, each taking two wins.
Steward won test four, despite crash-
ing and taking a handlebar to his back,
which required stitches afterwards. He
left for the hospital immediately after the
podium ceremony.
"I've always ridden really well here in
the past," said Steward. "It was a little
rough there at the end. I rode really
strong all day, so it was a solid Sumter,
a solid way to start the season. I came
in with Epstein-Barr this year, so a little
weak, a little tired, but we did every-
thing we could and did exactly what we
needed to do to start this year off."
Heading into the final test, DeLong
was just six seconds behind Grant and
looking strong. At the finish, however,
Grant managed to pull away from the
Husqvarna rider, taking the runner-up
slot by 34 seconds.
"In the first test I just struggled to find
my flow and just got arm pump really bad
and struggled to hold on," said Grant.
"By the third test I seemed to start find-
ing my flow a bit. I think I was back in
about fifth place after the first two tests.
After maybe the fourth test I bumped
up to second overall. Then going into
GasGas' Grant
Baylor chased
his older brother
but came up 32
seconds short and
took runner-up
honors.
