VOLUME ISSUE JANUARY , P75
up to that point, but he, too, had a
bad race, and finished sixth.
"That was like a turning point
for me," said Baylor. "I saw that
Ryder had been consistent on
the podium up until then. I knew
that was my time to capitalize
and make a point and put myself
back up there in the front. I knew I
needed to be up there in the front.
I've always been up in the front
in enduros for the last four or five
either I win the championship that
day or I have to bring it home at
the last one. You never know what
can happen. I can go all year with-
out any issues and then the last
race, have a bike issue or some-
thing, just a freak accident. You
never know. So, I really wanted to
get it done in Oklahoma. That last
"I wouldn't
say it's tough—
riding against
my brother. I
always like to see
him do well. If
I'm not winning,
I'd like to see
him winning."
(Left) The Baylor brothers, Grant and
Steward, have dominated the U.S.
National Enduro scene for the last six
years, with Grant nabbing his second
title in 2022. (Right) Injuries have slowed
Grant's progress the last few years, but
everything stayed together in '22.
years here. It's more just a mindset
thing. I had to get myself in the
right mindset and just believe in
my ability to do it and make it hap-
pen. So, I really just pushed hard
that second half of the season
once I saw that door opening for
the championship."
Even though Baylor was on a
roll, it was still tough sledding.
"I had a really good couple
of rounds there; the guys were
always close," said Baylor. "Even
though I won those four in a row,
I think Georgia I won by a good
margin, but other than that, the
other races I was just a few sec-
onds ahead of those guys for the
overall. So, those guys were really
pushing it. I was giving it my all, as
well."
Grant clinched the title at the
Oklahoma round.
"Going into Oklahoma, I knew
I had a shot to wrap it up. So,
that was my goal, to wrap it up a
round early. I was super happy to
achieve that goal. I wasn't sure if I
was going to be able to get it done
that day because of the level ev
-
erybody was riding. Going into the
final test, I had the lead by I think a
second and a half over Josh Toth,
and I ended up winning by just un-
der a second. It was super close.
"If I would have fell over one
time in that last test, I could have
gone from first to fourth. That was
a lot of pressure because that was
