TADDY BLAZUSIAK TAKES BRAZIL X GAMES
By Greg Stuart on 19 April 2013
The King of EnduroCross claims his second X Games gold medal – despite having an off day!
Polish KTM rider Taddy Blazusiak has taken gold in the X Games Foz do Iguacu Men’s EnduroCross session, winning out over rivals Cody Webb and David Knight in a hard-fought 10-lap race.
The day had started badly for Blazusiak, after he finished fifth in his heat race following a mistake on one of the rock sections and narrowly avoided failing to qualify for the final.
That upset didn’t arrive, though, and at the start of the race, Blazusiak immediately became embroiled in a battle for the lead with Beta rider Cody Webb.
In the early laps, it was beginning to look as though Webb and not Blazusiak would triumph, with Webb riding comfortably up in front and opening up a lead of just over a second.
On lap four though, Webb hit the deck on the slick track just before the rock crawl, allowing Blazusiak to take the lead for a split second before Webb remounted and retook the advantage. But within a few metres, Webb went down again and the fight was over, with Blazusiak sailing into a serene lead as the tricky track began to wear down his rivals.
By the time he rolled over the finish line after picking his way through struggling backmarkers, an ecstatic Blazusiak held a nine second advantage over Webb, with Knight unable to capitalise on the Beta rider’s errors and finishing third.
The King of EnduroCross claims his second X Games gold medal – despite having an off day!
Polish KTM rider Taddy Blazusiak has taken gold in the X Games Foz do Iguacu Men’s EnduroCross session, winning out over rivals Cody Webb and David Knight in a hard-fought 10-lap race.
The day had started badly for Blazusiak, after he finished fifth in his heat race following a mistake on one of the rock sections and narrowly avoided failing to qualify for the final.
That upset didn’t arrive, though, and at the start of the race, Blazusiak immediately became embroiled in a battle for the lead with Beta rider Cody Webb.
In the early laps, it was beginning to look as though Webb and not Blazusiak would triumph, with Webb riding comfortably up in front and opening up a lead of just over a second.
On lap four though, Webb hit the deck on the slick track just before the rock crawl, allowing Blazusiak to take the lead for a split second before Webb remounted and retook the advantage. But within a few metres, Webb went down again and the fight was over, with Blazusiak sailing into a serene lead as the tricky track began to wear down his rivals.
By the time he rolled over the finish line after picking his way through struggling backmarkers, an ecstatic Blazusiak held a nine second advantage over Webb, with Knight unable to capitalise on the Beta rider’s errors and finishing third.
Webb has his second slip and it’s all over© ESPN Images
“I turned it around,” said Blazusiak after the race. “I was having one of those days that, if I was having that day at my practice track, I’d go home after half a lap. I had no confidence on the bike or in myself and I couldn’t hit the track the way I wanted to.
“But then in the Main, I went all or nothing. Winning that race on a bad day was just a dream come true.”
In the Women’s EnduroCross, X Games debutante Laia Sanz took a comfortable win of 32.556s over Women’s AMA EnduroCross 2012 champion Maria Forsberg in a six-lap race, with Tarah Geiger coming home in third.
“I turned it around,” said Blazusiak after the race. “I was having one of those days that, if I was having that day at my practice track, I’d go home after half a lap. I had no confidence on the bike or in myself and I couldn’t hit the track the way I wanted to.
“But then in the Main, I went all or nothing. Winning that race on a bad day was just a dream come true.”
In the Women’s EnduroCross, X Games debutante Laia Sanz took a comfortable win of 32.556s over Women’s AMA EnduroCross 2012 champion Maria Forsberg in a six-lap race, with Tarah Geiger coming home in third.
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