The second round of the 2026 Women’s Motocross Championship took place over the June 6-7 weekend at Colorado’s Thunder Valley Motocross Park. The mile-high venue challenged riders with elevation changes, rough conditions, and a demanding layout as the ladies raced two motos over two days. Reigning champion Lachlan Turner continued her impressive start to the season with another perfect weekend, while Charli Cannon and Taylah McCutcheon strengthened their positions in the championship standings with podium finishes.
Lachlan Turner remains unbeaten in the 2026 WMX Championship with a second consecutive overall victory for Altus Motorsports bLU cRU Yamaha rider. Despite qualifying second fastest behind Charli Cannon, Turner once again delivered when the gate dropped. In the opening moto, she worked her way from fourth into the lead by the second lap and steadily pulled away from the field. Cannon briefly challenged for the top spot but a crash ended her hopes for the win. Turner eventually crossed the finish line nearly 28 seconds clear of the competition but was later penalized 10 championship points for jumping on a red cross flag. In Saturday’s second moto, Turner grabbed the holeshot and appeared headed for another comfortable victory before sliding out and handing the lead over to Cannon. The defending champion responded immediately, and reclaimed the position later on that same lap. She’d run off to another 1-1 sweep which marked Turner’s seventh consecutive moto victory dating back to last season. She maintains control of the championship by nine points despite receiving the post-race penalty following moto one.
“They prepped the entire track, so it was kind of like a skating rink out there,” Turner said. “I keep making it hard on myself [with the tip overs] but it’s definitely fun for the crowd to watch. That [second moto] holeshot was amazing, it was so much better than [Moto 1]. I’m just so hyped.”
Charli Cannon continues to be Turner’s primary challenger in the championship. The Quad Lock Honda rider set the fastest qualifying time of the weekend and looked capable of ending Turner’s win streak in the first moto. Cannon quickly passed for the lead after on lap one and attempted to build a gap as Turner worked her way forward from a bad start. Turner eventually closed in but Cannon remained within striking distance until a crash on the uphill rollers dropped her out of contention. She recovered and still finished second after Mikayla Nielsen suffered a late-race mechanical issue. In moto two, Cannon capitalized on Turner’s tip over and briefly inherited the lead but surrendered the position shortly after on the same lap. Despite racing through shoulder pain from her Friday crash, Cannon remained close to Turner throughout the moto and secured another runner-up finish. Her 2-2 scorecard earned second overall and kept her firmly in championship contention, sitting just four points behind Turner after two rounds. Cannon was also penalized five championship points for jumping on a red cross flag during moto one.
“It’s become a pattern,” Cannon said. “I haven’t really been strong at the beginning of my motos, and [Turner] gets me. Then I get better towards the end. There’s a few things I did wrong that kind of ruined my flow and my intensity, but I kept in the fight. I was there; it just wasn’t my day today. Considering the weekend, 2-2 is okay. We’ll just keep chipping away to try and get that win.”
Taylah McCutcheon earned the first overall podium of her WMX career with a consistent performance aboard her Partzilla Blaster Power PRMX Kawasaki. The Australian started her weekend by securing the holeshot in moto one and running up front in the opening laps. Turner, Cannon, and Nielsen eventually made their way around but McCutcheon maintained a steady pace and inherited third after Nielsen’s late-race mechanical issue. In moto two, she once again started near the front and spent much of the race battling for the final podium position. Although Nielsen eventually worked past her late in the moto, McCutcheon’s 3-4 finishes were enough to secure third overall despite being penalized five points for the red-cross incident. The result was even more impressive considering McCutcheon battled through tonsillitis during the weekend and still managed to earn her first career WMX podium.
“This was hard,” McCutcheon said. “My lungs were on fire that whole moto. I just wanted it to be done. That was hard work, but my dad always told me to never give up. I didn’t and ended up on the box.”
Mikayla Nielsen showed podium-caliber speed throughout the weekend but came away frustrated after finishing ninth overall. The SLR Honda rider ran inside the top three in both motos and appeared on track for a strong overall finish before mechanical issues ended her opening race while running second. She rebounded with a hard-fought third-place finish in moto two after charging forward from seventh, but the DNF plus a points penalty from moto one left her outside the overall podium. She now sits fifth in the championship.
WMX Press Conference
The highly anticipated WMX debut of reigning FIM Women’s Motocross World Champion Lotte van Drunen resulted in a solid finish of fifth overall. Racing a largely stock Yamaha for HGS Slade Racing, van Drunen posted 4-6 moto scores and gained valuable experience in her first appearance on the American circuit.
The series sees another gate drop this coming weekend as round three takes place at the High Point National in Mount Morris, Pennsylvania.
Video Highlights
Results
WMX Overall Results (Top 5)
- Lachlan Turner (Yam) 1-1
- Charli Cannon (Hon) 2-2
- Taylor McCutcheon (Kaw) 3-4
- Jordan Jarvis (Yam) 5-5
- Lotte van Drunen (Yam) 4-6
