VOLUME ISSUE JANUARY , P69
tions of this course. Hart kept
a 2–3-minute lead over Facto-
ryONE Sherco's Cody Webb for
most of the race, but towards the
end, the 2022 USHE Champion,
Hart, pulled away and finished
first with four minutes to spare
over Riordan.
Webb finished in third place
two seconds behind Riordan,
while FactoryONE Sherco's Coo
-
per Abbott and Rockstar Energy
Husqvarna's Ryder LeBlond
finished within 10 seconds after
Webb.
Colton Haaker of the Rockstar
Energy Husqvarna Team and the
2017 King of the Motos winner
had a sizable crash that pushed
him back to a 10th-place finish.
In the Pro Women's class,
Kylee Sweeten was the only
female to make it to the finish
Riordan of the RPM KTM Racing
Team was the fastest around
this course by nine seconds,
an impressive feat against a
stacked field of the best hard en
-
duro athletes in North America.
Race 1 determine the top
75 riders who would qualify
for Sunday's main event. Sat
-
urday's race kicked off with a
land-rush start up a rocky hill,
creating instant chaos for the
multiple rows that were leaving
30 seconds apart. The pace of
the front pack, led by Trystan
Hart, of the FMF KTM Factory
Racing Team, quickly separated
from the rest of the field as they
rode around the mountain range.
Climbing up some very steep
switchbacks and then returning
down slick rock slabs seemed to
be the most challenging sec
-
(Left) Cody Webb
gave chase, but an
off-course excursion
hurt his chances at the
overall. The Sherco rider
still finished second.
(Below) Rockstar Energy
Husqvarna's Ryder
LeBlond finished out the
day on the box.
