VOL. 50 ISSUE 31 AUGUST 6, 2013
Taddy Blazusiak
shows off his
second X Games
Enduro X Gold
medal after
winning the Los
Angeles event.
P65
BY JEAN TURNER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GARTH MILAN/ESPN IMAGES
G
lobal Enduro X riders
made sure the last Staples Center X Games
event was a barnburner, and
put on quite a show for Los Angeles fans – and a few million or
so who tuned in to the live ABC
broadcast on Sunday afternoon.
Taddy Blazusiak took gold at the
final Moto X Race of the Summer X Games, followed by his
KTM teammate Mike Brown, and
factory Beta rider Cody Webb.
But the Arenacross-style course
proved to be an effective equalizer among the field, as evidenced
by the incredibly close racing
inside at the front of the pack
throughout the 12-lap main event.
Blazusiak maintained the lead
from start to finish, but not in the
dominant fashion we've seen
so often. Brown, Webb and
Colton Haaker each made
runs for the lead, but mostly
battled with each other on
the heels of the 111 KTM.
Although his gap wasn't a
large one, Blazusiak maintains
he had more to give if he needed
to.
"I still had a little margin left,"
Blazusiak said. "I could go a little bit faster but then you know
you're risking everything. I knew
I could control the situation. I
knew I had three, four seconds at
one point and that was enough. It
gave me that cushion, but I was
not being too aggressive."
Haaker was looking at a second-place finish in the latter half
