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 .”
Ashburn was able to keep a solid charge behind Kelley and Baylor , finishing three minutes behind the duo to round out the podium , and moving the Husqvarna rider two points ahead of KLM Milwaukee GasGas ’ Grant Baylor in the series .
“ 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 kind of charged really hard the first couple laps . Me and Stew kind of 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 Factory Racing ’ s Josh Toth battled from a second-row start up to the leaders , but in an attempt to pass Strang in a downhill rock section , a rock turned over under
JOSH TOTH , XC1 PRO
ON THE PEGS // PAGE 66