Cycle News Staff | July 12, 2016
It was a warm and sunny day in Dayton, Iowa when the OMA Nationals series returned to host the Sidi Cyclone XC, round four of the 2016 series on July 9 in Iowa. With a tight points battle brewing in the Pro 1 class, it looked to be another epic battle. A recent race injury sidelined current points leader Mike Witkowski, which offered Steward Baylor a major opportunity to regain the advantage in defending his series championship.
Baylor Wins Iowa OMA
The bikes roared to life with Husqvarna’s Nick Fahringer taking the FMF holeshot award and leading the pack. Fahringer lead most of the event, but a late-race mistake left the door open for Baylor to capitalize. The seventh and final lap of the race ended with Baylor leading Fahringer by 44 seconds for the win. Fahringer would take second place, followed by Drew Higgins (KTM/Klim/Maxxis) who rounded out the Pro 1 podium.
In the Pro 2 class, Yamaha/Fly/Maxxis rider Cody Barnes grabbed the holeshot and the early lead. Barnes maintained a comfortable lead until the final lap, when Jeremy Smith (Yamaha/TLD/Maxxis) put on a charge, taking the lead briefly after Barnes collided with a lapped rider in the final mile of the race. Smith also had a lapped-rider incident just a few hundred yards from the finish line, allowing Barnes to regain the lead and take the win by a scant three seconds. Barnes and Smith also got into the top-five overall, taking fourth and fifth, respectively, edging out fourth-place Pro 1 rider Adam Bonneur (Suzuki/Fly/Maxxis), who completed the final two laps without front brakes.
After a wrong turn on the first lap sent Baylor, Mark Heresco (KTM/O’Neal/Kenda), and Higgins on a short loop off the trail, the trio reconnected with the race and pushed forward. Then, according to Baylor, “Heresco had a pretty good get-off on the second lap. I stopped to make sure he was all right. He wasn’t moving, and it was ugly.” Heresco paid a visit to the EMT and was sent home with a reported hyper-extended arm.
“After that I got some clear track ahead of me and just worked my way through the guys,” recalled Baylor. “Drew and I rode together a couple laps. Me and Bonneur rode a couple laps together. Then Nick (Fahringer) and I got together until he got stuck.” Baylor said. “There was a lapper that was kind of sprawled out going up the hill. He (Fahringer) bumped him and went down, and when he hit him, it knocked him back over, so I had a clear line.
“From there on it was just smooth and consistent. It was one of those tracks where you could get ahead of yourself, and it was really tough to get around lappers out there. Making sure you didn’t make those little mistakes was tough to do today. It was fun. Luckily I put my bike on the box and took back over the points lead here.”
John Gasso
RESULTS
Sidi Cyclone XC
- Steward Baylor (KTM)
- Nick Fahringer (Hus)
- Drew Higgins (KTM)
- Cody Barnes (Yam) Pro2
- Jeremy Smith (Yam) Pro2
- Adam Bonneur (Suz)
- Kyleer Vance (Hus) Pro2
- Jon McMillan (Yam) Pro2
- Teddy Maier (KTM) Pro2
- Brandon Farnum (Yam) A Class
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