Round two of the Women’s Motocross Championship took place in Thunder Valley and once again WMX brought lots of excitement to the weekend. In moto one defending champion Lachlan Turner did not get a great start in the elevation of Colorado. The fastest qualifier on the day, Charli Cannon got out to the early lead, but then Turner turned up the heat. They made a couple of passes back and forth before Turner took over the lead and Cannon went down hard in the uphill rollers on the third lap. Mikayla Nielsen took over second position until her bike let go on the final lap, gifting Cannon second while Nielsen ended up 16th. This is the second round in a row of bike troubles for the SLR Honda rider, who had clutch issues the first moto at Hangtown and barely made it to the line in time.
In the second moto, Turner pulled the holeshot but then went down on the start of lap two, allowing Cannon by. But Cannon who was still riding sore from Friday’s crash did not have much fight to keep Turner behind her. Though once Turner passed for the lead, Cannon stayed within two seconds to make the race interesting right to the end. Australia’s Taylah McCutcheon was running third for most of the race but was racing sick. Tonsilitis at elevation is a recipe for disaster but she fought strong until the end. Mikayla Nielsen was able to make a last lap pass for third, but McCutcheon’s 3-4 gave her third overall on the weekend.
The top three overall met with the press after the race. Turner who has won all four motos now to start the season spoke on her mistakes and the competition; “The first moto went good. I clicked second off the start, so I bogged off the start… Today I pulled the holeshot and it was sick. I fell over, I keep making it hard on myself with the tip overs but it's fun for the crowd to watch that’s for sure… The competition has grown so much from last year. We’ve got so many overseas riders so that’s amazing. And it's fun for me to battle with them too.”
As for Charli Cannon, she had high expectations after logging the fastest lap time in qualifying but then had bike troubles in moto one and a crash. “It's been a bit of a wild weekend. I made it hard on myself on my first moto yesterday, I went out for the site lap and realized I had no rear brake and obviously I didn’t have time to fix that. So, I just went out and raced with no rear brake and that was tricky on a rough hilly track. I definitely didn’t ride like I know I can ride and then I had a massive crash going up some rollers. And kind of hurt my shoulder pretty bad. I felt it this morning, the aftermath and I did everything I could do to make my body feel good. By the time racing came along I was good to go. Like the adrenaline and just focus on racing kind of took my mind off of being sore. I got out to second and rode my laps, but I didn’t really feel like I had the intensity and find the flow that I wanted. I need to work on intensity and keep fighting earlier in the moto, I find that I kind of get better as the moto goes on. So, in a short race that’s not great. But we will keep chipping away and keep finding that urgency in my riding. I know I’ve got a lot more in me to show so I will keep on working.”
Though Charli was quick to point out that even though she was sore for Saturday’s race, she makes no excuses, “We all ride with something hurting, so I feel like it's motocross, you’ve got to be tough.”
Finally, Taylah McCutcheon, with her first US WMX podium in only her second race, and did it while sick no less, “Honestly that was hard. I flew in Thursday; I was in urgent care Thursday afternoon and got some antibiotics. Came in Friday, slept between every single moto (practice sessions and motos). I was really struggling out there, but I would never quit. It takes me a lot to quit. I have been through so much, I wouldn’t give up just because of tonsilitis that’s for sure. I just kept pushing, kept fighting, it was hard work, my lungs were burning. But we got it done, first time here, second race in America. Couldn’t have ended on a better note considering how I feel.”
Also of note, the two-time World Champion Lotte Van Drunen flew over to race Thunder Valley. She was riding on a stock bike with a pipe, which definitely hurt her starts, especially in elevation. She had to work her way up both motos to finish 4-6 for fifth overall. She did have the third fastest lap time in the first moto, so it will be interesting to see if she can finish any higher up next weekend for round three at High Point. Also joining the series next weekend will be rookie Mayla Herrick who is turning 17 (age minimum for both Pro Motocross and WMX) on the day of the race. Will anyone be able to step it up and put an end to Turner’s reign next week?
