The riders couldn’t have asked for a better race day: perfect ground conditions, no rain, with temperatures hovering around the sixties. For the most part the eMTB course was dry, with only one or two minor wet spots. The course featured classic mountain bike single-track and only shared the start and finish with the motorcycle/ATV courses. There were a few slightly technical spots as well, but nothing that would give an average Cat 2 rider any trouble. At roughly the halfway point of the course, there was a sharp hairpin turn into a shallow valley with a hump immediately afterward. The tree roots were a common theme, most were not large, but they made up for their small size with sheer prevalence.

Of the sixty eMTB racers competing at The General GNCC, which is the largest GNCC eBike turnout thus far, Charlie Mullins was the overall winner in the premier XC1 Pro eMTB class.

Former GNCC XC1 Pro and current defending GNCC eMTB National Champion Mullins had to fight hard for that win in Georgia. After the start stretch he was sitting in eighth place out of nine riders. By the end of the first lap he had battled through the field making the pass on William Pregram III, who had taken an early lead. However, Pregram III, Seth Stevens, John Ayers Jr and Jeff McCarren were all close behind, separated by a mere eleven seconds. By the next lap Mullins had twenty seconds on Pregram III, and he continued to put time on the rest of the pack as the race wore on. Mullins would come through the finish line, earning the win by over a minute.

There was still a good battle going between second, third and fourth. Fifth-place McCarren had dropped off the pace by lap four. However, he still had enough in the tank to fend off a last-lap sprint from sixth place. On the fourth lap, Pregram III dropped to fourth place, allowing Stevens into third and Ayers Jr into second, which he would hold on to until the checkered flag. Pregram stayed in fourth most of the remainder of the race, but passed Stevens on the last lap for the final podium position.

When asked about his race and the event itself, Mullins said “My race went pretty well. I made a couple mistakes in the start and lost a few positions, but by the end of the first lap I was able to get into the lead and ride my own race. The course conditions were perfect and I had a blast. The race production crew did a great job this year on the course. It was also great to see the biggest eBike turnout to date!”

In the Amateur class, James Mayhew held the lead for almost the entire race. Almost, of course, being the key word. Hayden Dillion had fallen into a groove behind him, and never came through the scoring zone more than six seconds away. The race ended in a sprint finish. Dillion passed for the lead on the last lap, though Mayhew wasn’t letting him go easy. The two crossed the finish 1.1 seconds apart. Sam Kemp finished third after working his way up from a fifth place start. He was unable to hang with the lead pack but outdistanced fourth by an equal margin, which meant he rode most of the race by himself.

Dillion was pretty excited about the race, saying “My race went great. I got off to a great start, getting third into the woods. I settled into second for the whole race, then made my move on the last lap to get into the lead. I pushed as hard as I could all the way to the finish and took the win. The GNCC crew laid out a great course and I had a blast out there.”

In the Women’s class it was longtime GNCC WXC motorcycle racer, Rachel Gutish, earning the win in her first-ever eMTB race. She faced serious competition from pro downhill racer and Specialized Bicycles own, Emily Oppliger. Oppliger had made the trek from Arizona to give GNCC eMTB racing a try. The two were neck and neck the entire race, separated by less than a second each time they passed through the scoring zone. It looked as though Oppliger would take the win after she outpowered Gutish on a climb halfway through the last lap. However, Gutish was able to make a pass in a tight section with multiple lines near the end of the course, barely taking the win. Ashley Hendershot, 2019 Women’s eMTB National Champion, charged her way onto the podium with a third in the Women’s class.

Gutish said she was a little nervous going into the race. “When I line up for a dirt bike race, especially a GNCC, I know what I’m doing, what the course will be like, who I’ll be racing with, and usually have an idea of where I’ll stack up. But in this there were just a lot of unknowns since I’d never raced a bicycle. But I ended up having a fantastic time! Emily Oppliger and I were together the entire race and the battles were epic.”

In the Masters class, Barry Wray took the win after leading from start to finish. He was able to put over twenty seconds a lap on next closest rider, Colin Dierman, and had plenty of breathing room by the end of the race. Dierman was in a similar position, putting serious time on third. John Ayers SR rounded out the podium in third place, after battling back and forth throughout the race with Ian Smith.

Wray was excited about his race, not just because of his race but also because of who he was racing with. “I lined up two bikes to the right from a legend, Dick Burlson [eight-time National Enduro champion for Husqvarna], all I can say is wow!” As for the race itself, Wray told us “I got a good start and just tried to put my head down and ride a consistent race, conserving my battery as much as possible. The course was really good! Mostly single track with lots of tight stuff and a few technical challenges. For anyone who has ever raced a motorcycle and a mountain bike, the eMTB class is the perfect challenge. It is still extremely physically challenging but incredible fun at the same time. I can’t wait for round two!”

In the youth class it was the 2019 Youth eMTB National Champion, Talon Hawk getting off to a promising start. Hawk would lead the pack of youth racers as they came around on lap one. Hawk would eventually ensue in a battle with fellow youth racers, and manage to hold onto a fifth in the class as the checkered flag came out. Mitch Hawkins worked his way into the lead briefly, before getting passed again by Cooper Kuneff. Hawkins passed Kuneff back in one of the open field sections on lap five and this time was able to quickly pull away. Hawkins and Kuneff were the only two riders to stay on the lead lap. Third place finisher Jacob McPherson in all reality was not terribly far off – he was only fifteen seconds down on his last lap, but that fifteen seconds was enough to let the overall leader come between him and the finish line.