Shan Moore | June 28, 2021
2021 Snowshoe GNCC Results. Ben Kelley (FMF/KTM) put an end to Steward Baylor’s run of GNCC wins and by doing so momentarily stopped the bleeding that had seen his points lead go from comfortable to severely under threat heading into this weekend’s Snowshoe GNCC at Snowshoe Mountain Resort in Snowshoe, West Virginia.
Kelley Tops Snowshoe GNCC
After missing the opening round of the series due to an injury, Steward (AmPro Yamaha) went on a rampage, winning five of the last six rounds and pulling to within four points of Kelley in the series standings after Steward’s most recent win at the Mason-Dixon GNCC. One more would have put him dead even with Kelley or better, depending on Kelley’s finish.
Despite sliding down on the asphalt on Snowshoe’s unique first turn, which is situated in the resort’s main village, Steward looked well on his way to a sixth win when he moved into the lead on the opening lap in Snowshoe’s infamous “Howard’s Hole,” passing early leaders Jordan Ashburn (Magna1 Motorsports/Husqvarna) and Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Team Green Kawasaki’s Josh Strang to do so. However, a tangle with a lapper on lap four cost Steward considerable time, allowing Kelley to take the lead.
“Stew and Jordan were riding really good in the beginning, and they kind of pulled away from me quite a bit,” said Kelley. “I was surprised. I felt like I was riding really good, but they were just a click faster. But once I got in the lead, I got a good gap. Then I hit some logs and crashed. It’s so slick out there if you’re not prepared. I went down and I knew Stew was catching me. He was pretty close, but I had a solid last lap. I stayed off the ground and cleaned all the hills and got to the finish first. The last few miles had some tough hills. Really, they shouldn’t have been hard but they were so cobblestone and wet that you would get zero traction.”
Kelley’s win at arguably the toughest venue of the schedule left him nine points up on Steward in the series standings and carrying a lot of momentum heading into the summer break.
“The previous two races I felt like I should have won those,” said Kelley. “I led almost every lap and got passed with a few miles to go, so it’s nice to go into the summer break with the points lead.”
Frustrated with the lappers, Steward was not happy at the finish. “I had some good lines at the start of the race, but after I got in the lead, I stuck with that same line but started getting slower throughout the race, and it seemed that all the lines that I had walked just weren’t the good lines anymore,” said Steward. “I think on lap four I finally got a pretty good cushion and just tangled with a lapper. As I was getting up, those guys caught me from about 20 down and they passed me. The rest of the day it was just a never-ending battle with lappers. It was really tough. Really, just aggravating.”
Jordan Ashburn parlayed a great start with a solid ride to come home third, matching his best finish of the season. “I got a good jump off the line and me and Stew drag raced into the first corner and he ended up going down,” said Ashburn. “I was really excited to get out front on the first side because it was super dusty. I just charged really hard the first couple laps. Me and Stew gapped the field a little bit, but then Ben reeled us back in. I just made a few too many mistakes towards the end, but happy to end the day with a podium.”
FMF/KTM’s Josh Toth, who is finally healthy after suffering a few injuries in 2021, overcame a big crash in one of the rock sections to finish fourth. Toth started from the second row on Snowshoe’s unique starting tradition due to his points ranking.
“Howard’s Hole got pretty crazy and [I] was able to catch up right to the back of those guys,” said Toth. “Once we got around the to the other side of the mountain, I caught up to Grant [Baylor] and Strang. I tried to get around Strang going down that nasty downhill rock garden and a rock flipped over under my rear wheel and just ejected me. My bike was pretty mangled. I managed to catch back up to Strang and put a pass on him, but those top three were gone. I felt like I was pushing and ripping all day, but those guys were on another level.”
KLM Milwaukee GasGas’ Grant Baylor hit the ground a few times, but still managed to log a solid fifth-place finish. “I just kind of just tried to tag along with those front guys all day,” said Grant. “They ran us on the east side of the mountain with all the ski slopes and roads, and it was just fourth gear, fifth gear wide open and dusty and you couldn’t see anything. I lost some time there on the first lap got caught in the dust. Then I just tried to pick it up there and make up some positions as the race went on, which I was able to get up a few positions mid-race. I just made too many mistakes and hit the ground a few too many times today.”
The trio of Rockstar Energy Factory Husqvarna Racing’s Thad Duvall, Coastal Racing GasGas’ Ricky Russell and Babbitt’s Online/Monster Energy/Kawasaki Team Green Kawasaki’s Josh Strang each ran in the top five at one point during the race, but ended up rounding out sixth through eighth at the finish, with Duvall in sixth, Russell in seventh and Strang in eighth.
Coastal Racing GasGas’ Johnny Girroir had an eventful day, but came back from two early crashes to win the XC2 250 Pro class with a ninth overall finish.
“I had two big cartwheels on the first lap and I was almost in tears out there,” said Girroir. “I just had to make myself slowdown and concentrate and I was finally able to find my groove.”
Seven-sixty Husqvarna’s Ben Nelko was noticeably pleased with second in the XC2 250 Pro class and 10th overall.
“I don’t think of myself as a rock rider, so I am surprised and happy with second today, it was a good day,” said Nelko.
XC Gear/Enduro Engineering Husqvarna’s Ryder Lafferty was 11th overall and third in the XC2 250 Pro class after missing the last three rounds due to an injury.
Jonathan Johnson (Magna1 Motorsports/Husqvarna) got back to his winning ways in the FMF XC3 125cc Pro-Am class with an impressive win over Husqvarna’s Jake Froman and Yamaha-mounted Noah Clark.
The win was Johnson’s seventh of the season and puts him 47 points clear of Chase Colville (fourth for the day) atop the class standings.
AmPro Yamaha’s Rachael Archer took the win in the XCW class after spending most of the race battling with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Tayla Jones.
“I got the holeshot, but then I just made a little mistake in a rut and fell over and Tayla passed me there,” said Archer. “I just hung with Tayla for two and a half laps and then I passed her in Howard’s Hole and never looked back. I rode a really good last lap, never dabbed a foot and hit all my lines. Just stoked to take the win.”
Jones’ runner-up finish was her best of the year. “It was gnarly out there, especially around the five-mile mark is this gnarly rock garden and I was like, just stay on the bike,” said Jones. “I kept it pretty clean. I had a few crashes here and there, but overall it was a good race. Rachael ended up getting me, but I’m happy with how I rode and it was fun, so it was a good time.”
FXR/KTM’s Shelby Turner was third, ahead of BABS Racing Yamaha/Fly/Maxxis/Pro Circuit’s Becca Sheets.
Archer took back the class point lead over Becca Sheets with the win.
2021 Grand National Cross-Country Championship
Round 9
Snowshoe GNCC
Snowshoe Mountain Resort
Snowshoe, West Virginia.
RESULTS (June 27)
OVERALL
1. |
Ben Kelley |
(KTM) |
2. |
Steward Baylor |
(Yam) |
3. |
Jordan Ashburn |
(Hus) |
4. |
Josh Toth |
(KTM) |
5. |
Grant Baylor |
(GG) |
6. |
Thad Duvall |
(Hus) |
7. |
Ricky Russell |
(GG) |
8. |
Josh Strang |
(Kaw) |
9. |
Johnny Girroir |
(GG) XC2 250 |
10. |
Ben Nelko |
(Hus) XC2 250 |