After a chaotic opening to the 2026 U.S. Sprint Enduro Series that produced three different winners in three rounds, Liqui Moly Beta rider Cody Barnes emerged as the first repeat victor after a hard-fought battle at round four’s Olde Mill Farm Sprint Enduro in Charlotte Hall, Maryland.
Photos by Jade Barnes
Barnes secured the overall win with a 1-2 result over the two-day event, edging FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Grant Davis’s 2-1 by the slimmest of margins.
Barnes struck early Saturday with a 5.5-second win in the opening cross test. Davis answered immediately, claiming the enduro test by just one-tenth of a second and trimming off another 1.7 seconds in the third test. Cooper Jones (KTM) held third at the midway point, eight seconds behind Davis. When it counted most, Barnes responded with wins in two of the final three tests to take Saturday’s win by just over five seconds. Jones completed the podium and earned top Pro 2 honors, followed by Husqvarna riders Toby Cleveland and Brody Johnson. Colton Shields (Husqvarna) led the Pro-Am class with a strong sixth overall.
“I got off to a good start in the first cross test,” said Barnes. “It was obviously a fresh grass field, and I was able to roll the corners and set some stuff up. But at the end of the day, it seemed like I went backward in the cross test while Grant picked it up. I think I was just trying too hard to set up my corners more, and the course had some big silt berms, and it just didn’t work.”
Davis struck first on Sunday, opening with a 3.5-second win in the cross test over Barnes, with Cleveland third, again pacing the Pro 2 class. Barnes rebounded decisively in test two, gaining nearly eight seconds to take the provisional lead, before Davis countered in test three to reclaim a slim advantage. After another back-and-forth in tests four and five, the weekend was decided in the final test, where Barnes erased a four-second deficit by beating Davis by 6.1 seconds, securing the overall victory by 2.1 seconds. Davis held on to claim Sunday’s win, with Jones in third again.
“Today was a little rough,” said Barnes. “I really struggled in the cross test with the silt, and Grant made a lot of time on me there. I made up a lot of time in the enduro test, but I crashed in the silt in that last cross test and threw away any chance of getting the day’s win for Sunday. I sent it in that last test of the day and made up enough time to take the overall win.”
Davis struggled with a few falls on Sunday but still managed the day’s win and second overall for the weekend.
“I couldn’t keep it on the ground today,” said Davis. “I started picking up speed during the enduro test on day two, and I flowed well. It was a bit sketchy in places, with some square edges, but I managed it in the end.”
Jones finished third overall and first in Pro 2; Cleveland was fourth overall and second in Pro 2; and Shields rounded out the top five as the leading Pro-Am rider.
Jones won the Pro 2 class on Saturday by a little over 30 seconds but finished second to Cleveland on Sunday. Jones had enough spare time from Saturday to claim the overall win in the Pro 2 division.
“Today I honestly struggled a good bit, and Toby got me for the day,” said Jones. “I got him for the overall, so it was a good weekend.”
Brody Johnson (Husqvarna), Cole Whitmer (GasGas), Will Sievenpiper (Kawasaki), Lane Whitmer (GasGas) and Brayden Baisley (Yamaha) rounded out the top 10.
FMF KTM’s Brandy Richards topped AmPro Yamaha’s Danielle McDonald for the win in the Pro Women’s Division, while Yamaha-mounted Lilley Sheets was third overall.
“I definitely love this place,” said Richards. “It was a little bit drier this year, but I loved the cross test. Lots of lines opened up, and it was fun getting some creative line choices. There were a lot of people here this weekend, so the enduro test got choppy, but overall, it was a fun weekend.”
Austin Tsakanikas rode his KTM to the Open A victory to earn the $1000 KTM PowerPick contingency award. Meanwhile, the top Amateur for the weekend with an overall win in the 250 A division was Brayden Baisley.CN
2026 U.S. Sprint Enduro Round 4 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Cody Barnes (Bet) 1:29:04.460
- Grant Davis (KTM) 1:29:06.518
- Cooper Jones (KTM) 1:30:44.524
- Toby Cleveland (Hus) 1:31:01.148
- Colton Shields (Hus) 1:31:58.452
- Brody Johnson (Hus) 1:32:13.023
- Cole Whitmer (GG) 1:32:33.928
- Will Sievenpiper (Kaw) 1:32:43.093
- Lane Whitmer (GG) 1:33:19.630
- Brayden Baisley (Yam) 1:33:32.422
