"I didn't know where we were
at all," said Toth. "I felt good all
day, but this track was so tough
on bikes; the clutch, just how
hot it got with the mud and how
sticky it was. But I was trying to
manage it, and then I had a cou
-
ple things go wrong. I ran over a
fan
on one of the hillclimbs and
had to go back down, and then I
got a big stick in my rear wheel
with two laps to go, but luckily, a
couple of guys were able to help
me yank it out. I thought my bike
was done, but I'm stoked on the
ride. I had some good back-and-
forth battles with Grant Davis,
but congrats to Nick. He worked
hard for it today."
Riordan was unaware of his
position as well and got stuck
flowing right now; it's so amaz
-
ing. It all came together out
there.
The bike just felt great.
When you get into that flow, it
just comes so naturally. I don't
even know what to say. I stayed
calm and I wasn't too worried. I
kept my heart rate down, so I'm
just out there on cruise. In these
conditions, it just feels like I'm
play-riding. I was having fun and
going fast."
Toth didn't get off to as good
of a start as DeFeo, but was up
to second quickly, pushing his
teammate all the while. Toth
had to overcome a few mishaps,
but his experience pulled him
through, and he easily finished
second overall and second XC2
rider.
Surprisingly, in his first race in
the XC2 class, Red Bear Rocky
Mountain Kawasaki's Nick
DeFeo, who grabbed the XC2
holeshot, took a massive win,
topping his teammate, former
XC1 rider Josh Toth, by over
three minutes for the win. DeFeo
started the second lap with the
overall lead on adjusted time
but eventually worked his way
past all the XC1 riders and into
the physical lead by the halfway
mark, leading Toth and Riordan
to the finish.
"I don't even know what to
say," said DeFeo. "It's just such
a good feeling to stand on the
top step. I put all the hard work
into this offseason with the
new team, and everything's just
Josh Toth made it a
Red Bear Rocky Mountain
Kawasaki 1-2.
ROUND 1 / FEBRUARY 16, 2025
BIG BUCK / UNION, SOUTH CAROLINA
OFF-ROAD I PROGRESSIVE GRAND NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY SERIES, PRESENTED BY SPECIALIZED
P78
