The racing is still good this year, the battles are exciting, but we can still call this the year of the washout.
Ryan Villopoto led the race early and lost the front end in a corner (a washout), same exact thing that happened to James Stewart while leading last week. From there Stewart grabbed the lead and took off. Couple of practice crashes for Stewart? Whatever. He blitzed his heat race and was ready to do battle in the main, then rode strong for the win.
Chad Reed finally got a good start and battled with RV and Ryan Dungey for a podium. Villopoto crashed again trying to mount a comeback, leaving Reed and Dungey to battle for second. Dungey made a pass and held second for most of the race, but Reed kept digging, kept digging and got to Dungey's rear wheel on the last lap. Dungey made a mistake in the last corner and Reed pulled off a dramatic pass for the runner up spot--his first podium this year.
RV was a distant fifth after his double crash, and Trey Canard and Brett Metcalfe took their battle for fifth down to the wire. Canard bobbled in the last corner and Metcalfe grabbed the spot back.
Look for results here in a few, and a full race report and pictures tonight.
