Conditions were perfect for Saturday’s ATV race, and despite morning showers on Sunday, near perfect conditions appeared for the bike race as well. Given that Steele Creek is an immensely popular round, and given the relative tightness as well as the shorter than typical loops when compared with other rounds, lappers definitely have an impact on the racing action at the front of the pack. At this round, a total of 83 women competed, with Traci Pickens and Tayla Jones winning the premier WXC classes.

Traci Pickens nabbed the holeshot on Saturday in the WXC ATV class, and immediately took control of the race. By the end of the first lap, she had already put over a minute on Sadie Gorrell, who came through the scoring zone in second, in a train with most of the class on each other’s rear fenders - Megan Shepherd, Katelyn Osburn, Alicia McCormick, Hannah Hunter and Jaida Phillips all were separated by approximately one second. Kassidy Williams, who was experiencing carburetor trouble was about a minute and a half back. Her first lap ended up being her only lap of the race, while Jill Zink, who was likely also experiencing trouble, as she was seven minutes down from the main pack after lap one. Zink eventually finished out the day in seventh place. 

On the second lap, Pickens kept a consistent lead and was pushing hard for a good overall finish against the 4x4 pros. However, there were plenty of battles taking place in the main pack. McCormick passed both Osburn and Shepherd, who was also passed by Hunter at the same time as a result of a poor line choice made while trying to pass second-place rider Gorrell. Osburn was also able to get around her in a separate pass. 

It appears that on the third lap, Gorrell began to struggle, potentially with the thick traffic as the WXC riders got into the thick of the lappers, and in their post-race comments several riders mentioned the importance of being patient while working through the traffic. Lap times began to increase, and although Gorell’s increased a little more than average, dropping her from second to sixth place. 

McCormick was passed by both Hunter and Shepherd during her pit stop. However, she was able to pass both back at once with a well-executed line under the bridge. She was able to fend off the other riders for the remainder of the race, though unable to get back within sight of Pickens. Earning a second place here at Steele Creek was especially meaningful for McCormick, as this is the race last year where she broke her pelvis and spent most of the remainder of the ’18 season trying to get healthy again. She said, “I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't nervous going into this race since I got hurt so bad here last year. But after the flag waved the nerves disappeared and I was ready to rip!” 

The lap after McCormick made her pass, Hunter had mechanical problems in that same spot under the bridge. Fortunately for Hunter, help was nearby and they were able to get her rolling again – but not before it gave both Gorrell and a fatigued Osburn enough of a lead to drop Hunter back into 6th for the day. Gorrell placed just ahead of her in 5th, while Osburn managed a 4th, which she admits was largely due to luck, as she was just out there trying to survive and salvage points.

On the other hand, third-place finisher Shepherd had a fantastic time, saying “it was a fun race and a hard battle all day. I felt like I changed positions with the other riders a hundred times! I’m super happy to have landed on the podium!” The WXC ATV winner, despite having few, if any, battles throughout the race, also seemed to have a good time, telling us, “The weather and terrain made for a perfect race day.” Pickens had a great overall finish, placing fifth overall out of 231 riders.

In the Girl’s ATV class, the podium was once again identical to the previous two races – Andrea Rodgers taking the top spot, with Alexis Keys in second and Hannah Moore in third. The battle between Rodgers and Keys was not as close this time, with Rodgers steadily increasing her gap over the pack. Additionally, Morgan Johnson competed in YXC1, taking home a 5th place finish in-class and overall. In the Women’s ATV class, Sydney Sams finished on top and was 60th overall. 

On Sunday morning, Tayla Jones grabbed the holeshot in the bike WXC race, with Brooke Cosner, Korie Steede and Becca Sheets close behind. Sheets quickly passed her way up to third before entering the woods, making it up to second not long after. Archer worked her way into third, and towards the middle of the lap Mackenzie Tricker, who had crashed in the first couple corners, was nearly within sight of Jones and Sheet. Meanwhile Archer, Cosner and Steede had a second pack of their own but were all closing in on Tricker. 

Unfortunately for that second pack, chaos arrived towards the later part of lap one in the form of lapped riders. The short course and increasing speed of the WXC class tend to make it tricky for all riders involved. With slower riders in front of them, Cosner, Archer and Steede managed to stay relatively close to Tricker through the scoring zone. The remainder of the top ten were even further spread out, with Shelby Rolen in seventh, Shyann Phelps in eighth, Annelisa Davis in ninth, and Lindsey Bradley in tenth, each separated from the others by a minute or more. 

Despite her best efforts, Tricker was unable to make up ground as the lead pack grew increasingly distant. It initially appeared that Archer or Cosner might challenge Tricker for the final podium spot, since all three were in the similar unfortunate position on lap one, but Archer lost her brakes, while Cosner struggled with arm pump from the second lap onward. Archer ended up fourth for the day, two minutes down from Tricker, while Cosner was another minute and a half down from her in the fifth place position.

Jones and Sheets had an epic battle, staying within seconds of each other, through the entire race and while fighting through masses of lappers. The cleverness and speed of line choices as well as the focus required in such difficult conditions made Steele Creek a mentally challenging race. It is incredible that the leaders were able to stay this close together for the duration. After the race, Jones stated that “Steele Creek is always a hectic one, but in the end I got the win so I’m happy about that.” Sheets agreed that it was “very mentally challenging race” and says, “I am happy to finish with a second place and ready to keep pushing.” Jones and Sheets also went one and two in the overall, out of the 649 riders in the AM bike race. Tricker made her way to the WXC podium in third. 

In the Girls class, Nikki Russell was back again with the win, although not with quite the same staggering gap as the previous round. Gracie Gooch placed second, while Ellie Winland rounded out the podium in third. Prestin Raines competed in YXC1, placing 11th in class and 23rd overall. Jocelyn Barnes won her third Women’s class race of the year, placing 56th overall. Taylor Murray, from Huntersville, North Carolina was the winner in Women’s C with a 375th place overall.