ALFREDO GOMEZ WINS LAST DOG STANDING

Rockstar Husqvarna’s Alfredo Gomez came to America to ride the Last Dog Standing one week after finishing fourth at the Erzberg Rodeo. He was rewarded with the overall win over his teammate Colton Haaker.  “It was very hot and I’m not used to this,” said Gomez. “On the first day, I struggled because my suspension was too soft and the course was very fast. But the second day was more my style.” The “First day” that Gomez talked of was round three of the District 37 Sprint Enduro series, which was held in conjunction with the Last Dog Standing for the first time. The final test in that race was used for staging the LDS Extreme Enduro the next day.

Alfredo Gomez was invited to ride the 2019 Last Dog Standing. He found Tire Mountain and the other obstacles easier to deal with than the weather.

On Sunday, the riders started in pairs for a single lap of the eight-mile course. It consisted of all the iconic obstacles that the race has become known for, including Ferrell’s Canyon, Greg’s Gulch, Pete’s Falls, Last Dog Canyon and the infamous Tire Mountain. Unfortunately, the morning race ran into a glitch less than halfway around. The first four riders were Colton Haaker, Alfredo Gomez, Ty Cullins and Trystan Hart. All of them took a wrong turn and ended up at the start again. They were sent back on the course with a time adjustment. That put Beta’s Max Gerston in the physical lead, but when the scoring was posted, he was credited with fifth and Haaker was given the win. A total of 31 riders qualified for the next race, including Morgan Tanke, who is the first woman to get that far.

FMF/Maxxis/RPM KTM’s Trystan Hart took full advantage of Colton Haaker’s incident in the water to finish second in the final race of the day.

LDS2, UNOFFICIAL RESULTS

  1. COLTON HAAKER 0:36:40.921
  2. ALFREDO GOMEZ 0:36:57.278
  3. TRYSTAN HART 0:37:35.650
  4. TY CULLENS 0:39:57.150
  5. MAX GERSTON 0:43:41.983
  6. DUSTIN McCARTHY 0:47:01.087
  7. JACOB ARGUBRIGHT 0:47:19.566
  8. GRAYSON GONSALVES 0:47:25.854
  9. DALTON SHIREY 0:49:36.436
  10. RICH LARSEN 0:53:14.042
  11. WILL RIORDAN 0 :55:32.482
  12. MASON KLEIN 0:55: 43.522
  13. DAVID KAMO 0:57:17.737
  14. RYAN GOUVEIA 1:03:38 .575
  15. ANGUS RIORDAN 1:03:44.734
  16. JESSE KEIERLEBER 1:04:25.580
  17. JAMES FLYNN 1: 05:41.543
  18. ZACH SPANO 1:14:39.932
  19. THOMAS PIRA 1:26:15.525
  20. CHANCE FULLERTON 1:27:59 .950
  21. TYLER SMITH 1:28:23.543
  22. WALTER MARIENSCHEK 1:30:16.115
  23. FRED PARR 1:31:01.836
  24. KYLE HUTCHESON 1:31 :23 .070
  25. JORDAN GAMBOA 1:32:04.734
  26. ANDREW HALL 1:32:37.408
  27. AUSTIN PHILLIPS 1:32:58.883
  28. JACKSON DAVIS 1:33:59.640
  29. MORGAN TANKE 1:34:28 .826
  30. TODD JARMAN  1:34:53.984
  31. KEVIN SHEFTEL 1:36:02.129
TM Racing USA’s Ty Cullins finished fourth in LDS 2, but suffered from problems in LDS 3 and was only able to complete one of the two laps.

The final event was two laps of the same course, with a few more sections thrown in. It started at 1:00 p.m., as the temperature was approaching 100 degrees, adding another level of difficulty. Haaker got the start, but Gomez soon passed him and started to pull away. Trystan Hart and Max Gerston pushed  Haaker, but there were never sections that required teamwork among the top riders. The same couldn’t be said for the rest of the pack. Tire mountain was at the halfway point in the loop, and many riders decided to call it quits there, simply because the pits were nearby. Most of the other riders partnered up to get over the top. There were only 10 riders that started on the second lap of LDS2. When Gomez came into the finish, he had a big lead, but there was drama behind him. Hart had closed in on Haaker and when they entered a mud hole within site of the finish, Haaker dropped his Husky and drown it out. Hart rode on to second place in that race, while Dustin McCarthy, who was on his first lap, helped get Haaker’s bike dried out. Colton got it going and crossed the finish in third, with Gerston close behind. Grayson Gonsalves, Rich Larsen, Will Riordan and James Flynn were also credited with completing two laps. The scoring was done with a two-moto format, so Gomez won with a 2-1 score over Haaker’s 1-3. Hart was 3-2 for third.

Dustin McCarthy helps drain water from Colton Haaker’s Husky.

OVERALL SCORE

  1. ALFREDO GOMEZ 2-1
  2. COLTON HAAKER 1-3
  3. TRYSTAN HART 3-2
  4. MAX GERSTON 5-4
  5. GRAYSON GONSALVES 8-5
  6. RICH LARSEN 10-6
  7. WILL RIORDAN 11-8
  8. JAMES FLYNN 17-7
Gas Gas USA’s James Flynn was the top amateur rider from the weekend, completing both laps in the final and securing eighth overall.
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