On The Pegs June 2018 - Volume 3 - Issue 6 | Page 129

On The Pegs
RYAN SIPES
Vol. 3 Issue 3 - June 2018
P 129
Saturday, but came on strong during Sunday’s event with the
track tacking up. The KR4 Husqvarna rider scored two test
wins on Sunday to finish just behind Strang in the runner-up
slot.
“Things started off a little rough, I think I struggled with the
conditions on Saturday,” said Michael, who was fifth at the
end of the first day of racing. “The conditions were a lot more
to my liking today. The only thing I struggled with was staying
off the ground in the Cross test.”
The Enduro test was Michael’s strong suit and that’s where
both of his wins came, although he was third in the final Cross
test behind Steward Baylor and Ryan Sipes.
“Overall, I’m really happy with my result,” added Michael.
“It’s progress for me; I’ve been struggling a little bit this year
with comfort and consistency. I feel like today I was able to
really find my groove.”
Ryan Sipes rounded out the podium 22 seconds behind
Michael. The Rockstar/Leatt/Maxxis Husqvarna rider won five
of the six Cross tests over the weekend, but struggled in the
Enduro tests.
“I’m surprised to finish third considering how I rode this
weekend,” said Sipes. “I had a few falls in the Enduro test, but
even when I didn’t fall I was just off the pace. I’ve been travel-
ing a lot lately and racing a lot of different kinds of races and
I haven’t ridden in the woods in about a month, and it really
showed when I got in the Enduro test.”
Despite the finish, Sipes still leads the overall series stand-
ings by 11 points over Steward Baylor.
Fourth overall went to Grant Baylor, who battled for the lead
on Saturday, however, the Tely Eenergy KTM rider struggled to
stay on two wheels on Sunday.
“I was second in the first three tests on Saturday, so I was
leading the race at that point,” said Grant. “After that, things
went downhill. I crashed three times in the fourth test, and
over the weekend I think I crashed seven or eight times.”
Despite the crashes, Grant was just eight seconds away from
a podium finish behind Sipes.
Jordan Ashburn kicked off the weekend by winning the
opening test on Saturday, an Enduro test. The Beta USA rider
was sitting third behind Evan Smith and Josh Strang at the
end of the day. Sunday was a tough day for the Tennessee
rider, however, and he settled for fifth overall at the end of
two days of racing.