GNCCRacing.com: When we were setting up this interview and mentioned you were from California, I was pretty intrigued. I assume you follow the series, and that’s a long way to come from.

Leon Hanson: I do follow the series, but probably not in the way you’re thinking. I’m actually a mechanic for the Husky team.

Cool! How long have you been working for Husky?

About three and a half years now. I’m the suspension guy for Josh Strang, Colton Haaker, Thad DuVall and Dalton Shirey.

Why did you decide to do the electric mountain bike race at the Penton?

I race mountain bikes at home all the time, and I was testing with Thad during the week, so I was already at the track by Friday. I asked my boss if I could go do it, and he said yes.

So how long have you been racing mountain bikes, and how’d you get into it?

About two years now. I raced dirt bikes for around six years and mountain biking kind of falls in line with dirt bikes, you know. Since work was sometimes making it hard to race dirt bikes I transitioned over to mountain bikes since it wouldn’t interfere with work too much.

Did you have a good time racing the eMTB race?

Yeah, it was a good time! One thing that a lot of people don’t realize is that it is still challenging. They tend to think, oh, there’s a motor so it must be easy. Actually, having raced both, I would say it’s just as hard. Charlie [Mullins] agrees with me too. He was saying that his heart rate was actually higher on the eMTB than when he races actual bicycles. I think that is might be because once you hit 19, the motor is actually counterwheeling against you. So you have to pedal that much harder to get going only a little bit faster.

Interesting, I never thought about that. Can you describe your race for me?

I got the holeshot, which was nice. The start worked pretty much like a GNCC start, with the flagger and everything, except we got to start with our bicycles already on. I was leading, but then I got stuck in the mud and Charlie went by me. I just kind of paced him throughout that lap and was able to keep up, at least until we hit the mud again. He pulled away there, but I kept pushing and started to catch back up. He ended up getting a flat right before the finish line, which gave me just enough time to pass him for the win.

Congrats on the win! Since you’re from California, I take it you’re not too used to the mud?

(Laughs). No, I had no idea what I was doing. I mean, I rode dirt bikes in the mud for the first time at Thad’s house like the week before, and that was it. So it was pretty new. Honestly it wasn’t that bad though, just every once in awhile it would hit a spot and wash out when I wasn’t expecting it.

Do you think the eMTB racing is a good thing for GNCC?

I kind of figured they would do something like this eventually, after the eBikes came into play a year and a half ago for inspecting the courses, or however long it’s been since that all started. It seemed like a no-brainer for them, and I don’t see why anyone except maybe the pro riders would hesitate to give it a try - the eMTB race is a great time!