Ryan Belue is a name that has been at the front of the A classes for several years. After back-to-back injuries prior to this season, Ryan has returned and is currently holding 2^nd place in the Open-A class points. We caught up with Ryan to find out more.

GNCCRacing.com: How's it going today?
Ryan Belue: It’s been going good. I had a nice mountain bike ride this morning and now I’m getting ready to head to class.

How have you been enjoying your summer break?  
Oh, I’ve been loving it.  Summer has always been my favorite time of year, but I really haven't had much of a break. I’ve been staying busy racing the SORCS and SETRA series, I’ve only had a couple weekends off since Ohio (laughs). It’s been fun doing something a little different.

Are you ready to get back to racing?
Yeah for sure! Even though I have been doing a lot of racing, I’m looking forward to GNCC starting back up again. They’re unique in their own way and a lot of fun!

What are your expectations for the last part of the season?
My expectations for the rest of the season are to do the best I can at each race. I haven't been able to get a win in the Open-A class yet this year, so my goal is to hopefully get a win before the season comes to an end.

How do you hope to finish the season out in points? 
Well, I’m currently sitting second in the points, but my goal from the beginning of the year has been to win the championship. There are a lot of fast guys in the Open-A class this year, but it definitely makes each race a lot of fun and a good challenge

How has the rest of your 2012 season gone, and what has it been like coming back racing after being injured prior to this season? 
My 2012 season has been going good. I was out of racing for almost two years, so I knew it would be tough getting back into the swing of things. The doctor released me to start riding again at the end of January so I didn't have much time on the bike before the first round in Florida. I’ve been working hard throughout the season and each race things seem to get a little better, but I’ve been trying to stay consistent and take each race one at a time and do the best I can.

What were the back to back injuries you had? 
Well, in April 2010 I separated my patella (knee cap), and decided to not have surgery and hope things would heal back on its own. When November came around my knee was still giving my problems, so I decided to have surgery to tighten the patella up. In April 2011 I was back riding and things felt great, then at a local race I had a wreck and separated the same patella again.  This time I had no choice but to have surgery again. After taking six months off with a lot of therapy and hard work I was racing again. In November 2011, at my second race back from knee surgery, I separated my AC joint in my right shoulder. Once again I was in the hospital having surgery. It was definitely a rough two years and it gave me a lot of time to think about things, but racing is what I love to do and plan to keeping doing it as long as the Lord will let me.

Does it make this season feel more rewarding to know you've overcome all of that?
Yeah, for sure! To be able to still go to the races, see all the great people I’ve come to know, line up on the starting line and race, that feeling is amazing. I am very blessed and thank the good Lord every day for allowing me to do what I love the most.

Where do you hope to take you racing career in the future?  
Ever since I started racing my dream was to make racing a career. I know with the economy being the way it is and all of the super-fast guys out there that dream will be tough to accomplish. But I’ll keep working hard and hopefully one day that dream will come true.

What has been your biggest accomplishment so far?
So far my biggest accomplishment has been winning the amateur overall at Big Buck in 2010. I’m going to keep working hard and hopefully win another one soon.

Alright, before w wrap this up, who would you like to thank?
First I’d like to thank the good Lord for allowing me to do what I love, and blessing me with great parents who support my racing.  Atlas Cycles and Dwayne Leonard, Stickman Graphx, Winners Edge, Dirt Tricks, Asterisk, EBC, Kenda, Cycra, IMS, Twin Air, FMF, Pro Taper, Factory Connection, Offroad Viking, Randy Hawkins, Darrell Raines, and all my friends and family. Also thanks to the GNCC crew for all of their hard work each race.