Walker Fowler got off to a good start and entered the woods inside the top three. Unfortunately a rider in front of Fowler quickly struggled and Fowler was hung up behind him allowing a couple competitors to get by putting him in fifth. By the five mile marker Fowler had worked his way back into second and was applying pressure to the leader. The track opened up to a split line and the two went opposite routes. When the lines merged back together, so did Fowler and the other rider, which resulted in Fowler hitting a tree and losing his front bumper. The bad luck didn’t end there – each time Fowler tried to get back on the course another rider would come by and push him back into the tree. Once he got going again, Fowler worked his way through the class and settled into sixth. Throughout the rest of the race Fowler ran a consistent pace, and made a last lap pass for fifth where he would finish the race.

“Not getting on the podium is something I’ve not done in years, but with stiff competition in in the XC1 Pro class you can’t afford to lose a minute the first lap and expect to pass nearly 20 competitors and make up the time,” said Fowler. “I’ve done it, but not this weekend. Congratulations to Brycen Neal on your first career overall win!