Irvine, CA (June 20, 2012) – Heading into the Sacramento round of the GEICO AMA EnduroCross Championship, there were eight open spots for riders to earn an invitation to X Games 18 Enduro X. For both the male and female riders, the top two non-qualified finishers would earn an invitation. In addition, the top two riders in the point standings in each class would also earn an invite.
The X Games competition staff also extends “Wild Card” invites to top racers from around the world and New Zealand’s Rory Mead has earned an invite. Mead is a proven Extreme Enduro specialist that demonstrated his versatility by winning a round of the US Grand National Cross Country Championship earlier this year.
The riders below are the final group to earn invitations and will join a field that now represents thirteen nations and includes riders as young as sixteen that will face off against some veteran off-road racers.
Men’s Enduro X
Top two finishing riders that were not already qualified
Bobby Garrison USA
Ben Rego CAN
Top two in point standings that were not already qualified
Ryan Rodgers USA
Bryan Roper USA
Wild Card Invite
Rory Mead NZL
Women’s Enduro X
Top two finishing riders that were not already qualified
Lexi Pechout CAN
Nicole Madsen USA
Top two in point standings that were not already qualified
Rachel Gutish USA
Nicole Bradford USA
“The opportunity to compete in the X Games provided extra incentive for riders to push themselves for a top finish at these first two rounds of the GEICO EnduroCross series” stated Eric Peronnard, the creator of EnduroCross and X Games Enduro X Sports Organizer. “I am really proud of the depth of talent that we have assembled for this second year of Enduro X”, he continued.
X Games Enduro X Invited Riders, Men:
Taddy Blazusiak Poland
Colton Haaker USA
Taylor Robert USA
Kevin Rookstool USA
Cory Graffunder Canada
Graham Jarvis England
Johnny Walker England
Andreas Lettenbichler Germany
Rory Mead New Zealand
Mike Brown USA
Justin Soule USA
Geoff Aaron USA
Cody Webb USA
Bobby Prochnau Canada
Gary Sutherlin USA
Steward Baylor USA
Taichi Tanaka Japan
Alfredo Gomez Spain
Kyle Redmond USA
Ivan Ramirez Mexico
Chris Bruand France
Alex Salvini Italy
Max Gerston USA
Destry Abbott USA
Kendall Norman USA
Fred Crosset Belgium
Bobby Garisson USA
Ben Rego Canada
Ryan Rodgers USA
Brian Roper USA
X Games Enduro X Invited Riders, Women:
Louise Forsley USA
Maria Forsberg USA
Chantelle Bykerk Canada
Kacy Martinez USA
Rachel Gutish USA
Steffi Laier (WC) Germany
Tarah Gieger Puerto Rico
Nicole Bradford USA
Nicole Madsen USA
Lexi Pechout Canada
The X Games Enduro X will be held on Sunday, July 1st inside the Staples Center, in Los Angeles.
The X Games event will air live on ESPN networks and the remaining GEICO AMA EnduroCross events will be aired on the Lucas Motorsports Hour on the NBC Sports Network. Check your local listings or www.motorsportshour.com.
For more information, go to www.EnduroCross.com.