Nate Kanney Results Service
Moose Racing Snowshoe GNCC - Snowshoe, WV - Sunday, September 14, 2008

Kanney scores podium finish at Snowshoe GNCC

Team Red Bull KTM's Nate Kanney went into the 2008 Snowshoe GNCC riding the emotional high of participating on a 3rd place overall finishing Team USA at the International Six Day Enduro in Greece, but also feeling the physical strain that comes along with those six intense days of riding as well as the jet lag from changing time zones. "I knew that the course at the Snowshoe resort was going to be a challenge and I was a bit unsure of how I'd hold up as I was still feeling the effects of the ISDE," said Kanney.

With its grand prix style start on the main road in and out of the ski resort, the Snowshoe GNCC is unlike any other race on the tour. Kanney, who coming into the round sat 5th overall in series points started on the front row along with the 4 other riders in the top-five overall points. Making it through the first turn safe was a priority, as sliding along the pavement would mean incredibly uncomfortable road rash for the entire 3 hour race. "David Knight and Glenn Kearney tangled up in the first turn with Knight stalling his bike so I was able to slip inside of them and fall into second place behind Josh Strang. I settled into a comfortable pace early on, knowing that once we got to the bottom of the mountain the really tough sections would begin and I wanted to save as much energy as possible for those."

Eventual race winner and Red Bull KTM teammate David Knight made his way around Kanney as well as Team Suzuki's Paul Whibley, but Kanney stuck to his game plan of playing it safe. "There were some very high-speed road sections as well as some very gnarly mud and rock sections, so I just settled into a comfortable pace for the first four laps. I was concerned about my endurance due to the ISDE and definitely didn't want to fade and miss out on a podium finish," said Kanney.

With the racers starting in rows of 5 with 10 second intervals between rows, Kanney knew that while he may not have been able to see some of his competition on the trail they could--due to time adjustment--actually be ahead of him in the overall race standings. "With two laps to go I put in a sprint for the finish as my endurance was better than I had anticipated and I really wanted to secure that final podium position." Kanney's last lap sprint gave him a comfortable one minute lead over 4th place and landed him on the podium. "It was one of those races where you could've gotten stuck in mud up to your handlebars or crashed on a very fast road section so I feel very fortunate to head back to New York with a 3rd place trophy," concluded Kanney.

Nate is now preparing for round 11 of the GNCC series at the famed Unadilla Valley Sports Center in New Berlin, New York. The last time that Kanney raced this event he won the overall over 12-time World Enduro Champion and 2-time GNCC champion Juha Salminen. "Unadilla is only 2 and a half hours from my house and I'm really looking forward to racing in front of all my hometown fans," said an excited Kanney.

Photos: Jason Hooper @ www.digitaloffroad.com

Results:
1. David Knight
2. Paul Whibley
3. Nate Kanney
4. Jesse Robinson
5. Barry Hawk

Next Up:
September 28
New Berlin, NY
Can-Am Unadilla GNCC