Martinez Wins Gold in Women's X Games Event
Monday, June 9, 2014 | 11:00 AM
With a combined temperature and humidity factor of over 100 degrees at the X-Games in Austin, Texas, it was the Motorcycle Superstore Bell Helmet riders who were actually the ones on fire grabbing podium finishes in both Enduro-X Men and Women events.
After the two qualifying rounds, Cody Webb and Ty Tremaine locked in their positions for the Men's Main Event, which was televised on ESPN to millions of viewers throughout the world and a sold-out crowd in the stands.
Webb, a former Trials champion and technical specialist, knew he had his hands full on the one-off designed and ultra fast Enduro-X track. "The tougher and more technical track, the better I do," claimed Webb, the current points leader in the GEICO EnduroCross series.
"I knew the rock section would play in my favor, especially with my long legs and being on the light two-stroke," Webb said. "Everyone else was making up time earlier when no one else was on the track, but when you hit a bottleneck like the rocks, you've got to be smart and patient."
Webb finished right on the heels of Gold Medalist Taddy Blazusiak, taking home the Silver Medal. Tremaine went on to finish a solid 8th overall in an internationally stacked field of riders.
The Women's event was made up of another group of talented racers including Motocross star and ESPN Magazine's Tarah Gieger and Chantelle Bykerk, the current GEICO EnduroCross Champion, but this is Factory KTM's Kacy Martinez' year. Kacy has dominated and is leading the Grand National Cross Country Series and was first overall woman at round one of the GEICO EnduroCross in Las Vegas.
Excited about her first X-Games Gold Medal, Kacy explained "I felt amazing during my race, that was the best I rode all day. On the last lap I was like, 'I can do this, I am going to get a gold medal,' and it felt amazing to cross the finish line with all those people cheering."
FMF/RPM/KTM's Rachel Gutish finished third and grabbed the Bronze medal. Rachel just graduated from high school and had to make a choice between racing X-Games or being part of her high school graduation. Her last minute launch across the finish line ended in a crash but secured the third spot in front of Bykerk and the Bronze Medal.
"All I can say is I am happy I decided to to come race X-Games."
Honorable mention goes out to Superstore's Rily Ellinger who, new to the EnduroCross discipline, raced the Women's main event and finished 11th overall.
