“I knew I was going to need to ride their pace early on but I lost a little bit of time on that first lap,”DeLong said.“I maintained a 20-30 second gap for the next two laps and then when we pitted, they must have turned it up and I must have gone slower. I have some things to work on for the next two weeks so hopefully some positive stuff comes out of that and we’re looking forward to Camp Coker.”

Team rider Trevor Bollinger returned to the XC1 Open Pro lineup for the first time this season after recovering from a second knee surgery during the offseason. He got off to a good start but dropped back on the opening lap to begin his charge from the 10th place position. He diced back-and-forth around the top-10 throughout the afternoon, making his way as high up as eighth-place on lap five. With two laps to go, Bollinger dropped back a few spots but he held strong to finish a respectable 11th in his first race back this season.

“I was definitely a little rusty, I haven’t raced in a year other than one race,”Bollinger said.“I actually got a decent start and just fell back at the beginning. I’m just happy that I made it through healthy and I’m looking forward to the next round.”