passed Lewis and pulled away
from the pack.
LeBlond and Riordan went
back and forth for about a lap,
but LeBlond extended his lead
and remained up there for the
rest of the race. Haaker was
riding strong and, at one point,
pushed into the second slot, but
Riordan passed him back and
pulled away, getting within five
minutes of LeBlond.
The rain continued for about
half of the race, but it eventually
cleared up. However, the condi
-
tions got even worse as the mud
got thicker and stickier. The ruts
also got deeper, and the sidehills
got tougher every lap. Traction
was essentially non-existent.
There was a battle in the top
five involving Lewis, Quinn Went
-
zel and James Flynn. Lewis was
sitting comfortably in the fourth
spot until he fell and got stuck
underneath his bike. By the time
he got moving again, he had lost
some time to Wentzel and Flynn
and they eventually caught and
passed him.
The lappers were a tough
obstacle in the mud, as there
were nearly 150 racers scattered
throughout the course. LeBlond
rode a smooth race and main
-
tained his gap over Riordan. He
came through the finish in four
hours and 52 minutes, winning
the USHE Pro class for the first
time. Riordan came in second
another five minutes back,
taking his sixth top-five of the
season.
LeBlond and Riordan were the
only two racers to finish the four
laps within the time limit, leav
-
ing everyone else to be scored
based on their lap and check-
point finishes. Haaker finished
in third place, and Wentzel and
Flynn had season-best finishes
in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Matt Musgrove
OVERALL
1. Ryder LeBlond (Hus)
2. Will Riordan (KTM)
3. Colton Haaker (Hus)
4. Quinn Wentzel (Rej)
5. James Flynn (GG)
6. Daniel Lewis (Bet)
7. Logan Bolopue (She)
8. Branden Petrie (She)
9. Gauge Logan-Key (GG)
10. Nick Fahringer (She)
VOLUME ISSUE MAY , P63
Will Riordan took a well-deserved second.
