“I continued looking far down trail to look for alternate lines since the main line seemed destroyed from the 10 a.m. race and slowly picked my way through,” reported Fowler. Fowler narrowly edged out first place once the lines merged back into the main trail. With only about 30 feet left in the first technical section, Fowler maintained his focus and carried his speed through the trail that was full of rocks, large tree roots, deep mud and water – all obstacles that the Snowshoe GNCC is known for! Once in the front, Fowler looked back and noticed the rest of his competitors having trouble through the mud and took to the road section as fast and he could.                           

Once back in the woods, Fowler continued focusing on building a gap on second as he approached the infamous Howard’s Hole. With some strategically placed team members, Fowler navigated through the mud without trouble, and as he completed the first lap his pit board read “+1 minute.”

From there, the two-time champion kept and steady pace and rode smart, trying to preserve his machine through the rugged trail. Not much changed until the last lap where Fowler had to dismount his quad twice due to getting stuck. Both times, Fowler was able to quickly recover, and took his seventh win of the season with a three-minute lead.