AZ Cross #6 - Horse Lover's Park Day 1

It was another full weekend of CX racing in Phoenix.  We headed up to Horse Lover's Park in north Phoenix for back to back racing days.  The course was changed up quite a bit from last year, including tight, loose turns, several difficult barriers, and a cold and messy water feature.  It was shaping up to be a fun day!

First off were the junior boys 9-14.  Toeing the line for DD was Liam, Luke, Giovanni, and Barrett.  This was Barrett's first race this season after battling illness.  Everyone was very excited to get the day started.  The boys faced some tough new competition on Day 1 from Kardon, a former CX National Champion out of Colorado.


Liam was locked in a battle for 1st place for the first half of the race.  Kardon lead for the entire race and pulled away from Liam to snag the win, with Liam coming in 2nd.

Luke found himself in a tough battle as well for 6th place.  He fought hard and come across less than a second behind to get 7th.

Barrett rode a solid race, especially considering the rough few weeks he has had recovering from pneumonia.  He had a crash mid-race, but was able to soldier on to finish in 8th place.

Giovanni had a solid race, free from crashes.  He took 9th on the day in a large junior boys field.

Taking the line for the girls 9-18 was Avery, Bella and Emma.  Emma quickly found herself dueling Alyssa for the lead.  They traded back and for some, but Alyssa led for most of the race.  In the final turn, Emma was able to come on the inside line to out sprint Alyssa for the win by a tire width!

Bella had a solid race.  She looked strong from start to finish, taking the final podium spot in 3rd.

Avery also rode a clean race today, just missing out on a podium spot and finishing 4th.

It was an exciting day of racing on a tough and messy course!