Chaos has always been at the heart of EnduroCross, and it ultimately decided the outcome of the opening round of the 2026 AMA EnduroCross Championship at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on October 3. A mistake at the start of the third and deciding moto sent two-time series champion Trystan Hart to the ground, forcing him to charge from last place. That opened the door for defending champion Jonny Walker and hard enduro specialist Ryder LeBlond to battle for the first victory of the 2026 season in a dramatic showdown. Walker ultimately claimed the win, ahead of LeBlond and Cooper Abbott.
Photos by Jack Jaxon
The series returned to the city where it all began more than two decades earlier, drawing a strong Pro field that included five-time champion Colton Haaker on a privateer Kawasaki, three-time title winner Cody Webb on a Rocky Mountain Yamaha, Hart riding his FMF KTM Factory Racing 350 XC-F, and defending series force Jonny Walker on a Triumph Factory Racing TF 450-E. The track itself offered little forgiveness. Tight and technical, it had very little flow (according to some riders), making passing a high-risk proposition. Riders who stayed clean and opportunistic would rise; those who gambled or hesitated would pay.
The Hot Lap session set the early tone. Hart threw down the gauntlet with a 42.219-second lap, edging Walker by 0.361 of a second and securing the coveted top starting spot among the front-row eight.
“That’s probably the most nervous I’ve ever been for a Hot Lap,” Hart said afterward. “My good friend Petrie had a huge crash, and Colton [Haaker] yarded it. Hopefully they’re both okay. I just rode smooth and didn’t do anything fancy. I’m not a big Hot Lap guy, but that was my first time posting the fastest Hot Lap in a while, so I can carry that into the rest of the night.”
Moto one unfolded as a statement from Walker. He led Abbott and Hart into the first turn and never looked back, controlling the race from flag to flag despite the inevitable mid-race chaos from lappers. Abbott held Hart at bay for the opening two laps before the KTM rider finally forced his way into second on lap three, which most likely cost Hart a chance to catch Walker. LeBlond worked into third by lap four, while Webb eventually slipped past Abbott late to claim fourth.
“I got the start, and we’ve been working on starts, so that was huge,” Walker said. “And then I just tried to focus on my own race. I could see Trystan coming the opposite way. The lappers are hard to navigate because you never know where they’re going to go.”
Hart’s early inability to clear Abbott almost certainly cost him a realistic shot at staying close enough to pressure the leader.
The second moto scrambled the order, with inverted starts for the top eight from the first race. Abbott rocketed from the back row into the early lead, with Nick Thompson (KTM) and LeBlond trailing. Hart and Walker were buried in eighth and 10th at one point, facing an uphill climb on a track that rewarded clean lines over aggression.
LeBlond, however, seized the moment, worked his way to the front, and held on for the win ahead of Abbott and a charging Hart. Walker recovered for fourth.
“I took a little bit of a risk and lined up on the far outside of the back row behind Nick Thompson because I know he gets good starts and he kind of pushed some guys and I was able to get up near the front,” LeBlond said. “I was riding pretty tight, but you have a little extra motivation when you’re up front.”
Heading into the third and final moto, the Olympic scoring system (lowest total points wins) set up a tight battle. LeBlond’s 3-1 scorecard gave him four points and a mathematical edge over Walker and Hart, who had five. The final moto boiled down to a winner-take-all showdown.
Chaos struck immediately. Hart and Abbott came together down the front straight into turn one, leaving Hart with a mangled bike and in last place while Abbott emerged with the lead. LeBlond slotted into second, followed by Webb, Haaker, and Walker.
As the race settled in, Abbott led early before LeBlond took over at the midway point. Walker methodically closed in, first passing Abbott for second and then passing LeBlond just before the white flag. Walker held on for the moto win and the overall victory. The final order read Walker, LeBlond, Abbott, Webb and Haaker, with Hart battling back to eighth after his opening-lap misfortune. Hart was later disqualified for receiving the outside assistance and was relegated to seventh.
Walker’s 1-4-1 scorecard sealed the night, ahead of LeBlond’s 3-1-2 and Abbott’s 5-2-3.
“It was between me, Ryder, Trystan and Cooper, so I knew it was close,” Walker said. “I knew all I had to do was win. I wouldn’t say I got the best start, but I managed to come through. I was trying to figure out where I was faster, so the only thing I could do was take his lines. Getting a win on a track I didn’t feel super comfortable with is satisfying.”
LeBlond, who had put himself in position for the overall with consistent speed and a calculated second-moto victory, came away satisfied despite the near-miss.
In the end, Walker left the desert with the early red plate, and the series now moves on to Nampa, Idaho, but the message from the Orleans Arena was clear: there is zero margin for error.
In the Women’s Pro division, seven-time Women’s Pro champion Shelby Turner (Triumph) took the early lead in the main event, with two-time champ Rachel Gutish (Rieju) in second and Chantelle Bykerk (KTM) moving into third on lap two.
The race got interesting when Gutish caught up to Turner’s rear fender just before the white flag. Gutish gave Turner a good race, but Turner held on for the win ahead of Gutish and Bykerk. Katie Hall-Leah (TM) finished fourth with Nikki Russell (GasGas) in fifth.
Niko Piazza made his move on the final lap to win the Expert class. Nick Thompson had led the first six laps, with Piazza following in second throughout the race.
Piazza was just over a second behind as they started the seventh and final lap. He got ahead before the finish and took the win by 3.648 seconds. Thompson finished second, followed by James Flynn, Riley Bender and Kamakana Waiwaiole.
Cole Clarkson led all six laps of the Intermediate final to take the win over Kael Widdicombe by 10.516 seconds.
Widdicombe, Makanna Barger and Cayden Hatcher held second through fourth throughout the race. Talon Thatcher came from eighth on the opening lap to round out the top five.
The lead changed hands twice in the opening three laps of the Novice final. Landon Johnson led the first lap before Damon Ellis moved ahead on lap two. Johnny Hagan worked his way from third into second, then took the lead on lap three.
Hagan stayed out front to the finish of the five-lap race, winning by 9.155 seconds over Ellis. Johnson finished third, followed by Zachery Griswold and Colton Combs.
Kael Widdicombe took the Junior overall with 1-2 results, ahead of Cole Clarkson’s 3-1 finish.
Widdicombe led the first three laps of the final moto, but Clarkson stayed close and was just 0.140 of a second behind at the end of lap three. Clarkson took over on the next lap and pulled away to win by 9.378 seconds.
Makanna Barger finished third overall with 2-3 results. Ethan Surry and Cayden Hatcher rounded out the top five.
Bobby Prochnau passed Eric Rhoten for the lead on lap two of the Veteran final and stayed out front for the rest of the six-lap race. He took the win by 21.208 seconds.
Rhoten held second, with Ray Amos third, TJ Scrupps fourth and Nathan Vandervliet fifth.
Ray Amos took the Club win to go with his third-place finish in Veteran. Tegan Warnick was second, followed by Augustus Thompson, Zachery Griswold and Juan Rojas.
The 2026 AMA EnduroCross Championship heads to the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, Idaho, on October 17 for the second round of the six-round series.CN
2026 EnduroCross Round 1 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Jonny Walker (Tri) 1-4-1
- Ryder LeBlond (Hus) 3-1-2
- Cooper Abbott (Kaw) 5-2-3
- Colton Haaker (Kaw) 8-7-5
- Cody Webb (Yam) 4-12-4
- Nick Thompson (KTM) 9-5-6
- Trystan Hart (KTM) 2-3-16 (DQ)
- Branden Petrie (Bet) 10-8-7
- Tim Apolle (Bet) 6-11-9
- Braxton Hintze (KTM) 7-10-10
