With a shortened first lap, McGill continued to hold onto the lead as they checked through timing and scoring for the first time. McGill was feeling pressure from Fowler as they were wheel-to-wheel for first lap. Coastal Racing’s Brycen Neal was also in the mix and he began the fight for third against Borich.

Borich’s shocks began to fade, providing issues as he tackled the rough and rutted trails. Neal capitalized on Borich’s misfortune and took over the third-place position by the end of the second lap. The top-five front runners began to gap the rest of the pack leaving Dillinger's Celtic Pub/GBC Motorsports/Moose Racing’s Marty Christofferson a clear track while he ran in sixth.

McGill and Fowler continued to put on a show where they were practically rubbing plastics as they raced under the infamous concrete bridge. McGill was able to fend off Fowler through the second lap, until Fowler worked his way into the lead right before the pits.

As the race reached its halfway point, different pit strategies came into pay where Fowler elected to forgo his pit, while McGill pitted. Shortly after the pits, Neal was able to work his way into the lead, but it wouldn’t last long as Fowler made his way back to the front after the Rocky Mountain section of the race course.

Lapped traffic guarded the main trail to the finish line just as Fowler, Neal and McGill came by. The podium contenders successfully navigated their way through and continued to push forward.

The racing action really heated up during the third lap where the top three racers were suddenly all in contention for the lead. With reports of McGill’s quad making sputtering sounds, the crowd anticipated an extra pit stop but was shocked when he decided to keep pushing. McGill didn’t let the possible mechanical issue bother him and worked his way back into second by the time the white flag came out.

Fowler continued to ride his own race throughout the last lap, with McGill holding onto second. Neal would also carry his momentum through the entirety of the race, rounding out the overall podium. Borich finished just off the podium in fourth, despite his front shock issues.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day came with the fifth-place rider. After starting outside the top ten, GBC/Fly Racing/HMF/Yamaha’s Johnny Gallagher worked his way through the pack to earn a respectable fifth place in XC1 Pro and sixth overall.

GBC/Canyon Motorsports/Fly Racing’s Landon Wolfe followed Gallagher in seventh overall, while Christofferson had his season best finish in eighth overall.

In the XC2 Pro-Am division, it was GBC/Goldspeed/Custom Axis’ Matthew Lindle who shot out to secure the $100 All Balls Racing Holeshot Award and the early lead. As the checkered flag waved it would be M.R. Unlimited/Hygear Suspension/GBC Tires/Tire Spine’s Devon Feehan to see it first and return to the center of the box. Feehan also scored a top-five overall finish, and was followed by Lindle who held onto second and Ithaca Recreation/Maxxis/Quad Tech/Storm Peak Crossfit’s Hunter Hart in third.

Coastal Racing’s Drew Landers not only won the College A (16-21) division, but also finished 12th overall where he was named the top amateur of the day.

After adjusted time, Schoolboy Sr. (14-17) competitor Ronnie Rusch came out with overall amateur honors taking home to overall and class win in the 10 a.m. race.  

The 4x4 Pro podium consisted of Cunningham Racing/Can-Am/Maxxis’ Kevin Cunningham who made it four-in-a-row. DeRisi Racing’s Robbie Pecorari placed second, and Team UXC Racing’s Kevin Trantham claimed third in class.

In the WXC division it was Yamaha/GYTR/Maxxis-backed Traci Pickens who claimed gold with Custom Axis/Spider Graphix’s Angel Knox in second and Dillinger's Celtic Pub’s Katelyn Osburn in third.