2021 Race Report: Great Salt Lake National
Rad Canyon BMX is one of the few infamous stops on the USA BMX national schedule. The racing was as tight as ever and definitely had it’s fair share of ups and downs for our team and many others. The high elevation paired with the super long last straight, made this track one of the most physically demanding courses of the year.
We had a strong squad attend this year’s event. Let’s check in with the team to see how everyone did. We also had a few injuries at this one as well so we here at the SX HQ are wishing the best for those riders and hoping for a speedy recovery!
Annabella Hammonds Proves To Be Resilient
Annabella Hammonds took a pretty rough crash at the last national in Kansas City. Because of that, we were hoping that she would get enough time to recover before this race. She laid all the worries to rest through a gritty performance in Salt Lake!
Bella came out strong on day one by taking home the win in commanding fashion. She led the 15-16 Expert Ladies from start to finish. Thanks to her clutch gate start in the main she managed to get a good pop on the ladies down the first straight which led her to taking home the holeshot. From there, the pack chased her around the whole course with Bella managing the gap and keeping her lead all the way through.
The main on day 3 seemed to have a similar outcome with Bella grabbing another holeshot and leading the pack down each of the straights. However down the burner of a last straight here in Rad Canyon BMX, the trailing rider managed to get the best of Bella at the line.
Bella was still all smiles though after the weekend as she laid down some great laps and pushed through the pain. Even though she was a little sore from the past weekend, Bella solidified herself as a premier starter within the class by holeshoting 2 out of 3 main events. In the staked 15-16 Expert women’s class, this is no small feat to achieve. We look for to more rides like this from Bella as the season starts to wind down and we inch closer to the big show in Tulsa!
Dr. Perkins Scores a Win!
If one thing is forsure, it’s that Justin Perkins is QUICK! But just looking at the scorecard for the weekend wouldn’t be enough to show how well this kid rode. Justin was going big or going home as he was a threat for the win all three days and laid everything on the line to make his best attempt each day.
Day 1 saw Justin get a great pop out of the gate but it looked as though he slipped a pedal over the first jumping ultimately ruining his chances at a clean start. Where most riders would have given up at this point, Justin continued to battle and caught back up to the pack. He ended up making his way back to a 5th place finish as he was still challenging another rider for 4th at the line. We love the effort this kid put in even though the win was somewhat out of sight!
On Saturday we saw the Doctor do some of his best work! The image above shows Justin taking the boys for a hot lap during one of the qualifying rounds. He found his groove early and locked into a rhythm of consistent laps for the remainder of the day.
In the main, Justin pulled another great start and held on for the holeshot. From there, he checked out on the boys and grabbed the win.
Sunday looked like we might see a repeat of Saturday’s performance as Justin lead the pack into turn 1. However, the trailing rider took the low line into turn 1 and met just at the exit with an unexpected elbow. As a result, Justin was sent off of the track just before the table top exiting turn 1.
We’re stoked for Justin as grabbed another win this weekend. We know he’ll be back for next race hunting even more wins!
Hannah Leakey Snags Another Podium
Fresh off of her new found stardom from being this month’s cover girl for Pull mag, Hannah made her way out to Salt Lake. As you could have probably guess, the Hurricane picked up another podium on the class bike!
Day 1 featured a close battle down the first straight. As the lead riders (hannah included) entered turn 1, a few of the trailing riders took the inside line. Hannah got caught up a bit by the swooping riders but managed to hang onto the 2 spot out of the turn. From there, the leader had clean air and pulled a slight gap, but Hannah was determined to reel her back in. She made progress and got right on the tail of the lead rider, However, it wasn’t quite enough as they both drag raced down the last straight with Hannah getting slightly edged out for the win.
Unfortunately, her weekend had to end early due to the lingering effects of a past injury. She made the call to play it safe and give her body extra time to heal for the upcoming races. Sometimes we have to listen to our bodies so that we can continue to perform at a high level in the future. We hope to see her back soon and that recovery goes well.
Mikkel Devore Triples Up on The Big Wheels
Our man Mikkel Devore put his stealthy ENVY BLK 2 cruiser to good use this weekend. He managed to pad his cruiser points even further by taking home the win on all three days on the big bike. The kid is looking smooth and we can’t wait to see him put up a cruiser NAG 1 fight in Tulsa, OK!
Mikkel also brought out the 20inch steed to spin some laps with the top 17-20 Expert dogs. We talk about it all the time, but the 17-20 class is cut throat with there being very little room for mistakes or hesitation.
Mikkel is making improvements with each race and he’s shown us on cruiser that he knows how to win. We know things will start to click for Mikkel real soon and he’ll be a name everyone is looking out for in the 17-20 class!
PJ O’Brien out Early on Injury Release
Man we really feel for this kid right now. It’s been tough having to battle all of the injuries this year. We’ve seen before what a healthy PJ can do and he is always a clear threat for the win on any track. However, it seems that shoulder of his isn’t wanting to cooperate.
PJ took a tough spill going into the first corner on day 1 which ended his weekend early. He’s out with a broken collar bone and is currently taking time to heal up. But just like in Nashville where he suffered the same injury, he will come back stronger than ever for the next race. We know that PJ will fired up to grab some more national wins once he’s all healed and boy we can’t wait to see Donky Kong do his thing!
Cam Moore Battles The Adversity
Factory Pro rider, Cameron Moore had a pretty rough go at it this past weekend. It’s a shame because he was really looking good during the weeks leading up to this race. Cam has been putting in the work every week, but whenever you’re racing the best of the best, it’s the smallest of margins that make the difference.
What really set the momentum against Cam was a technical difficulty during one of the qualifying rounds. Unfortunately, Cam had to walk the bike off and his day was pretty much done as he was sitting on some high points. On top of this, he wouldn’t be able to compete on day 2 as he needed to fly home for a family emergency.
This is how BMX Racing goes sometimes. It’s a series of peaks and valleys, but the most important thing is that you just keep pushing! It’s not about what happens to you, it’s about how you deal with it. Cam is a Champion at heart, so we know he’ll be back on it and ready to go for the next one!
Josh White Lays It All Out
CEO and Team Manager, Bill Ryan, said it best: “This picture of Josh White shows the style and the determination of 32 years of BMX racing packed into that bike and uniform that Lil’Bub (Josh White) proudly represents.”
On day 1, Josh took a hard crash just before the first jump in his semi main event which resulted in him missing out on the main. However, like the true sport that he is, Josh dusted himself off and got back to it the next day where he WOULD make the main! A great example of determination and grit to still comeback the next day and find your way into the top 8.
On day 2 Josh came out pretty hot with the front runners. It wasn’t quite enough to lead the pack into the first turn so Josh tucked behind the lead group. Towards the exit of the first turn another rider took the inside line and met Josh at the exit with an elbow. Similar to the incident with Justin Perkins, Josh got sent off the track and essentially ended his chances of getting a win that day.
Still, you could see that every lap Josh was giving it everything and that’s all that we ask. Things don’t always workout in your favor, all you can do is try your best each time you throw your leg over that bike. In reference to what Bill said earlier, Josh is a perfect representation of what determination looks like. With that being said, we KNOW he’ll be back! Keep chipping away at it Josh.
The Hayes Twins Give The Elite Ladies a Run
Stacked motos across the board is what we come to expect from any elite category. The Hayes twins made the long trek to Salt Lake to hang with the team and give the Elite Women a run for their money (literally)!
Ashely Hayes would end up just shy of making the mains both days, but she still put down some strong laps and did her best to battle the altitude and tough competition!
To say the racing was tight would be an understatement! Here you can see the Twins trying to make their way through the swarm of Elite Ladies into turn one. Emily would go on to make the main on day two to try her shot at some cash!
Thanks For Reading!
That’s all we have for this week’s racing action. Stay tuned for more race recaps right here on SupercrossBMX.com. Be sure to sign up for our mailing list so you can be notified when new blog post are published. Also check out our various social outlets for all things SupercrossBMX!
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