on us from the beginning, with
Grant and me going back and
forth a few times in the race. A
quarter-mile from the finish line, I
fell coming down the hill through
some gnarly ruts, and it just
stings to lose the overall by only
a few seconds."
Rounding out the top three
overall finishers of the day
was Steward Baylor Jr from
the Rocky Mountain Red Bear
Kawasaki Team Green, who
finished second in the XC1 Open
Pro class. Baylor worked his way
to the front after starting in fifth
place on lap one. As the race
progressed, Baylor continued
to push himself, trying to close
the gap between him and Kelley.
Unfortunately for him, Baylor
was unable to catch Kelley and
finished second in his class and
third overall for the day.
XC2 competitors FMF KTM
Factory Racing Landers' Angus
Riordan and Phoenix Racing
Honda's Cody Barnes once again
battled for better overall and
class podium positions. Riordan
and Barnes exchanged positions
throughout the race, with Riordan
managing to fend off Barnes to
secure second place in XC2 and
fourth overall. Barnes closely
followed Riordan to finish third in
XC2 and fifth overall for the day.
"I'm a little disappointed, to be
honest," Riordan said. "Just got
VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P45
Ben Kelley made it a
race en route to second
overall and first in XC1.
Korie Steede went
wire-to-wire in the
WXC division and was
second overall in the
morning race.
