| April 15, 2021
The OMA Nationals season opener, The Prophetstown XC presented by Rock River Arms and co-sanctioned with MXC and IERA, was held April 11 at Bill Gusse’s Prophetstown, Illinois off-road motorcycle track.
Local racer Cole Zuidema (Moose Racing/G2 Ergonomics) collected the win after a strong and consistent ride aboard his 2020 KTM 350 XCF. The Yamaha YZ250X of Jayson Crawford Fly Racing/G2 Ergonomics took second place, followed by Colt Converse aboard the Team Mercer County/G2 Ergonomics Kawasaki KX450.
Many of the nearly 300 racers at the event arrived with concerns regarding track conditions, as most drove through heavy rains on Saturday to reach the venue. Everyone was happily surprised to see the high sand content soil had simply wicked up all the water and became a solid racecourse. With steady rain for two days, a dirt trail would have been a quagmire. Instead, the sand simply firmed up and provided a good base for racing.
When the Pro-Am row took their start, it was David Stickel getting the holeshot on his KTM, only to be wiped out at the second turn. Stickel gathered himself back up and soldiered on to finish in 16th place.
Following the second-turn melee, Jayson Crawford took the point. “I got a second-place start, then quickly got in to first,” he said. “I rode in first for a little bit, then Cole Zuidema got around me and I stayed in second the entire race.”
Zuidema seemed on a mission at this race, and it did not take long for him to overtake Crawford in the woods. “It was a good time,” Zuidema said. “The track was a lot of fun. I felt pretty good all day. I didn’t make too many mistakes, and I felt like I was pushing all day long.”
Third place was a hotly contested position with Alex Witkowski (Husqvarna) putting in a strong performance and holding the position until getting passed by Colt Converse on the last lap. Witkowski has been out of racing for a couple years, but said he is looking forward to getting back with it this year. “Now I got my bike, and I’m back to the starting line.”
With a strong last-lap charge, Converse was able to put his head down and get his D&W Cycles Kawasaki past Witkowski and hold on for third place, rounding out the all G2 podium. “I was stuck in fourth almost all day and then I got around Alex [Witkowski] on the last lap,” Converse said.
Gavin Minnaert, the only A-Class rider to make eight laps, topped the open A class and finished in ninth place overall aboard the D&W Cycles KTM 250 XCW. “It was really rough in some spots, but other than that, it just tires you out. I just kept pushing and I ended up with the win, so I can’t complain. I had a blast. I couldn’t have asked for a better day.” ~John Gasso
- Colten Zuidema (KTM)
- Jayson Crawford (Yam)
- Colt Converse (Kaw)
- Alex Witkowski (Hus)
- TJ Nees (KTM)
- Lucas Hol (GG)
- Ben Ward (TM)
- Bryan Johnson (Kaw)
- Gavin Minnaert (KTM)
- Chris Huffman (Kaw)
For more information, visit omanationals.com