VOL. 51 ISSUE 42 OCTOBER 21, 2014 P83
going again, but I was still trying
to hit it down and I just lost too
much ground over there. That's
where I got passed. Passed and
then some. I was down for way
too long."
The blunder let Robert and
Haaker get by. Robert had been
running a steady second-place
until this point, and despite sev-
eral attempts by Haaker to make
a move, Robert was able to hold
him off. Fortunately for Robert,
he had an ace up his sleeve; he
was one of the only riders dou-
bling into the pool, which Haaker
was singling.
"That may have been what kept
me in front of Colton because
Colton was definitely pushing
me hard," Robert said. "He was
faster than me in a couple spots
but I think I was pulling him just a
little bit there."
That's exactly what Robert did,
despite Haaker momentarily get-
ting ahead of him late in the race.
Robert got hung up on the rock
section, which was giving riders
fits all night, letting Haaker tip toe
around for the lead. But the Rock-
star Energy/Lucas Oil/JCR Hon-
da rider would only make it several
feet, as he crashed coming out of
the rock section. Robert then re-
gained the lead, much to the fren-
zied crowd's delight. And although
Haaker stayed on his rear wheel
all the way to the checkered flag,
Robert didn't falter.
(Second) Second-place finisher
Colton Haaker navigates through
the tough rock section.
(Below) Many of the top riders
fell victim to the technical track,
including defending champ
Blazusiak (1) and veteran Mike
Brown (3).
