Catching Up With Ken (Ken Hill)

And The Specialized General is a wrap! I know I was happy to get back home after being on the road for the opening rounds and while the racing was great, the people awesome and the weather on point, there is no place like home! Thankfully I get a 10 day or so break before hitting the road again as the full season for me gets underway with the ATVMX in the mix, which means non-stop racing until what appears to be mid July before things taper off but that sure seems like a long time from now and boy do we have some good racing on deck. 

The Florida round is never a round I count on as a predictor for how a season will play out, as the riders who live down there over the winter are dialed for the sand and the results bare that out virtually every season. Walker Fowler hammered out a win and Chris Borich joined him along with Cole Richardson, as all three live in the sand and were safe bets for that round. Coming into Georgia we get a bit woodsier and just like that, Fowler takes another win followed by Adam McGill and Chris Borich. McGill was just seconds off the podium at Palatka and he would have been another rider that should have been a contender, but a solid fourth then a second at the General keeps him in the mix of things. 

It should be of no surprise that Borich is back on the box, as he picked up where he left off in 2018 and he might make this season really interesting if he can keep up his momentum as constancy is going to be really important if Fowler has a hiccup or two throughout the season. Borich is tenacious and a true veteran of so many battles in the woods that he may end up being the rider to take Fowler to task, especially with his improved physical training and flat out experience. 

Again, with only two rounds in the books, making a season long prediction would be foolish if we didn’t know what we know. Having Fowler and Borich leading the pack is a reality, however the wild card remains unclear as we have so many great riders that can strike at any round but they are going to have to remain healthy and ride smart. Take Jarrod McClure for instance. The “Sneaky Snake” seems to be having a so-so race until he finds a way to be in the mix for a podium and seemingly comes out of nowhere with out much ado. Last year McClure secured his number two plate and one has to wonder with so much talent in the XC1 Pro class if his 14th at Palatka may cost him come the end of the season. 

I do believe we are going to have an intense battle for the top 5 or 6 positions that will go down to the wire. Yes, two rounds in and this much we can see and if you toss Florida out and concentrate on where we go from here the heat of competition is going to be a full blown five alarm fire long before Ironman. Riders like Cole Richardson and Brycen Neal will get their time to shine with Richardson probably being the one who will be pushing hard to remain on the podium. I have not been able to nail down Brycen to see how his thoughts pan out on the opening rounds or where he feels he will fit in as the season charges on but he is indeed a contender for being in the top five when the numbers are crunched on the 2019 season. 

One racer I thought would be in a real fight for the podium at round one was rookie Hunter Hart. He lives to race, period, and nowhere in my recent memory have I run across a rider who seems truly happy just racing and I mean happy as in you can’t get the smile off his face. You point a camera at him and he is all teeth and grins! He has plenty of seat time running up front as he has tromped his way to the XC1 class and probably not since Fowlers rise have we seen a rookie with the kind of speed and experience Hart brings to the table. It is a rookie season, he is supposed to make mistakes and “learn” how to run at the Pro pace but I think he has the skill set to do major damage in the points battle. Time will tell but keep a close eye on him. 

Looking at the morning races, 4x4 Pro already has Landon Wolfe claiming two wins and that spells trouble for the class if anyone plans to unseat his quest to claim the championship. Dwight Pollard is probably the one rider who can keep him honest but fell just shy of the podium at round three as Jordan Phillips and Robbie Pecorari graced the stage after solid races from them both. Steele Creek should be more telling about how the 4x4 Pro class will start to develop and who is going to stand out as we head into more traditional terrain.

On to the ladies of GNCC racing, the WXC class! This is such a fun class, especially now that we see gentle and caring mothers gear up for battle and race for two hours after they had been the greatest cheerleaders as their kid just finished racing in the micro classes! Both Traci Pickens and Alicia McCormick went from full-blown “mom” to full-blown “racer” in the span of thirty minutes. Between getting ready for their own race, helping their kid AND trying not to loose their sanity was fun to watch! Pickens would go on to win her first race of 2019 at The General and was joined on the box by Katelyn Osburn and Hanna Hunter with some of the heavy hitters finishing just shy of the top three. For McCormick, a get off would send her sliding down the finishing order but thankfully she is ok. That is one tough lady! She also competed in the EMTB race later in the day finishing third. 

So that’s my thoughts on the happenings so far. Not much of a big picture developing but we should see some defining outlines in the next few rounds. Overall the first rounds have been pretty smooth and not much dismay other than everyone needing sunscreen. I get homesick but going from 75 degree weather to high 30’s is disheartening and a real bummer. Steele Creek can be feast or famine as far as the weather goes so prepare for anything and everything because we will probably encounter it all. 

Remember that Steele Creek is a black hole for most cell phone users, so prepare those at home that you may not be able to reach out until you get back towards town. Enjoy the mountain views and soak up the charm that this venue brings and never forget how slick the bridges get! As always, please be safe in all you do and may God bless you all! 

Two-Wheeled Action From Two Rounds (Jared Bolton)

Last week we were so busy getting things ready for The General, that I never really got the chance to dive too deep into everything that had unfolded in Florida. That’s not a problem as now we have the chance to look at the first two rounds all at once. I feel like this is a better way to do it because just like Ken mentioned, it’s hard to get a good judge of things off the opening round. No matter if it’s sand, or clay, the opening round can be tough to make a good judgment on the rest of the season, and while two rounds gives a little more of a preview, things really don’t feel “normal” until we head to Steele Creek. 

Obviously the big news out of the first round was Steward Baylor’s win at the opening round. I talked a bit about that last week because I left Stu out of the Racer X article prior to the opening round. Not intentionally, but because in reality there was too much to talk about. Outside of Stu’s great performance, there were the usual great rides out of Kailub Russell and Thad Duvall. These guys did what they normally do, it was just Stu’s day in Florida and he busted out the win. Trevor Bollinger would have a solid outing in his first GNCC event on the Husqvarna as he claimed fourth in the XC1 class, while Josh Toth made his XC1 debut with a fifth place finish. 

When we rolled into Georgia, it would be Trevor Bollinger making a big statement, as he would swap the lead with Kailub Russell a number of times. KR was able to hold his lead until the end for the race win, but Bollinger managed to hold off a hard-charging Thad Duvall who would end the day in third, less than 30-seconds behind Bollinger. Stu Baylor would finish a respectable fourth place while Josh Strang rounded out the top five on his new Kawasaki. 

In the XC2 class, Ben Kelley has been nearly flawless so far this season. He would lead every lap in Florida to take the XC2 class win ahead of Johnny Girroir and Mike Witkowski, then back that up with the same performance in Georgia. This time it was Evan Smith taking second place with Johnny Girroir in third. While those opening rounds don’t always tell the tale of the entire season, Kelley is looking extremely fast and it’s going to be interesting to see which of these guys will be able to challenge him for race wins. Johnny Girroir, Evan Smith, Mike Witkowski, and Tegan Temple have all been strong so far. Additionally, Craig Delong will be back once his collarbone has healed and he will ultimately be a challenger as well. 

Everyone I just mentioned aren’t the only ones with a shot at running towards the front of the pack this season. Andrew Delong looks to be meshing well with his new Honda as he’s ran inside the top ten at both rounds so far, and the same can be said for Jordan Ashburn aboard the Kawasaki. Ashburn has hovered around the top five at a few points thus far. Cory Buttrick debuted on an AmPro Yamaha at round two as a fill-in for the injured Ricky Russell. With very little time on the bike under his belt, Cory rode well and with a little more time on the machine we could definitely see him contending for top five finishes. 

It’s also been a heated battle in the FMF XC3 class. It came as no surprise that Florida native Jesse Ansley took the win in Florida. Cody Barnes rode good as well and took home a second place finish while Jake Froman would round out the podium in third. When we rolled into Georgia, Ansley would experience a number of bike issues that ultimately took him out of contention. It would then be Cody Barnes claiming the FMF XC3 class win ahead of Jason Thomas and Jason Raines. There’s definitely some talent in that XC3 class this year, and it will be pretty exciting to watch it all unfold as the season continues. 

So that’s the first two rounds in a nutshell. While it may be hard to get a true feel for how the rest of the season will play out, it’s definitely a good teaser of what you might be able to expect. If these opening rounds are any indication of what to expect, then the 2019 season will definitely be full of some great racing. Stay tuned because it’s just going to get better from here!

#ThrowbackThursday (Jared Bolton)

With Steele Creek on the horizon, it's only fitting to share some great Steele Creek moments in this week's edition of Throwback Thursday. Enjoy!