Champion Riley Bender won
both races with a strong lead.
The prologues were about five
miles long and the speeds were
a bit higher, but they still chal-
lenged many of the amateurs and
set the starting rows for Sunday's
main event.
When the races ended on
Saturday, a big rainstorm rolled
through and soaked the property
for a few hours, changing the
conditions of the entire course
for the following day. Sunday
began with a 90-minute LCQ,
which gave many of the amateurs
a second chance in qualifying for
the main race. The top 100 quali-
fiers were allowed into the main
race, and they had five hours to
complete two laps on a 12-mile
course, which turned out to be
more difficult than the athletes
were expecting.
Hart pulled ahead early and
didn't look back, gaining major
time on everyone behind him.
The battles for the podium spot
were back and forth throughout
the race, with LeBlond, Lo-
gan Bolopue, Keith Curtis and
Smage all swapping positions
at some point. The rocks were
relentless, and the rain made
the course extremely difficult as
time went by. As a result, many
of the amateurs only made it to
checkpoints one and two. Only
14 riders finished one lap, and
only five completed two within
the time limit. Hart's pace was
amazing to witness, as he was
keeping his cool in the tough
sections and making it through
them as if it were nothing. Even
passing lappers on his second
lap, he found alternative lines
and maintained his energy to
continue growing his lead. He
finished his two laps in three
hours and 13 minutes, which
VOLUME 59 ISSUE 29 JULY 19, 2022 P45
Ryder LeBlond did a
good job trying to keep
pace with winner Hart.
He was rewarded with
second place.
