and pleasant temperatures.
However, areas such as Joker
Falls, Wentzel's Waterslide, and
Chutes and Ladders retained
sufficient standing and flowing
water, adding excitement to the
course. The highlight of the day
centered around a duo of riders
who established a strong lead
and distanced themselves from
the rest of the group.
LeBlond made a strong start
off the line, appearing complete
-
ly in his element as he navigated
each obstacle
and consistently
chose the best lines. He held
the lead over Hart for most of
the first two laps, exchanging
positions a few times. How
-
ever, Hart was ultimately able to
outlast LeBlond
and seize the
lead. By the final lap, LeBlond
was applying pressure again, but
a crash in the last creek section
dashed any hopes of a last-
minute overtaking. Hart finished
with a 20-second lead. The only
other rider to complete four laps
was Will Riordan, who crossed
the finish line nearly 30 minutes
later.
"[Today's race] started off pret
-
ty rough," said Hart. "My mousse
was a bit
too stiff, so I was really
struggling. I kind of wrote the
race off on lap one because I
thought Ryder had a huge gap,
and I was just messing stuff up.
Then out of nowhere, I caught
him at Wentzel's Waterslide; I
honestly thought he got hurt or
messed something up because
he was there, going pretty slow.
It was stressful; I definitely
didn't want to get all the way to
the last lap in the lead and then
lose it somehow. This is my fifth
consecutive win here. This place
has always been pretty good
to me—it's where I got my first
win against Cody [Webb], so the
place is pretty special."
"We both had good lines,
good speed, and we pretty much
gapped everyone else," said
LeBlond of his three-hour battle
with Hart.
"It came down to me and him
at the end. Going into the last
lap, he got a little bit of a gap on
me," said LeBlond. For a second,
I gave up. I told myself I was go
-
ing to go as hard as I could until
VOLUME 62 ISSUE 17 APRIL 29, 2025 P41
Ryder LeBlond kept the
pressure on Hart en
route to second place.
