TAYLA’SNEWRIDE
ASIFLEADINGthewomen’sclassinthe Grand National Cross
CountryandSprintEndurotitlesinthe U.S. isn’t enough, Husqvarna
riderTaylaJoneshasalsobeenrunning up the front in the GNCC’s
neweMTBseries.Theelectricmountain bike title kicked off at The
GeneralroundoftheGNCCinWashington, Georgia, with Jones
finishingthefourlapsinjustover1hr5min and winning the women’s
classbyover70sec.
Maybeitwasallabitmuch,asTaylafi nished an uncustomary third
intheWXCclassthenextdaybehindBecca Sheets and Mackenzie
Tricker.ShedidnotfrontforthenexteMTB round at Morgantown,
NorthCarolina,butwasbackinhercustomary fi rst place in WXC on
herHusky,aheadofSheetsandTricker.
Joneswasstilltiedforfirstplaceinthe eMTB class with Ashley
Hendershot,whodidnotrideatroundone, so it will be interesting to
seeifTayladoesanyoftheothersixrounds. Jones’ bicycle might
bringbackmemoriesforsomereaders. It’s produced by Italian
manufacturerFanticwhichusedtobebig in trials and enduro. She
scoredanIntegra 160 full-suspensionmountain bike from their U.S.
importerinDecember,completewithBrose Drive S motor that pumps
outupto90Nmifyoupedallikecrazy.She wasn’t the only familiar
nameamongtheentries,withformerenduro champ Charlie Mullins
winningtheXC1Proclassforseriessponsor Specialized at both
roundssofar.ThenextoneisinMillfield, Ohio, on 18 May.SOIL SAMPLE FROM OUR SPIES
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MONSTER TROUBLES
ELI TOMAC’S CREW chief at Kawasaki, Mike Williamson, quit after the
Atlanta round of AMA Supercross. According to the man himself, he
fi nished up to spend more time with his family. In a statement on
Instagram, he said that to do the job you needed to “have fun and
believe in the direction” and that “both of those were gone” for him.
Naturally, his decision to quit mid-season has the rumour mill in
overdrive, with many speculating that he and Tomac weren’t getting
along and that he was given his marching orders. Given that Tomac
hasn’t dominated this year as most expected, it’s hardly surprising that
there would be some tension. Still, Eli was running second with a chance
to win the title. You’d think Williamson would stick around until the end
of the series.
Tomac’s mum, Kathy, got in on the talk, seemingly throwing a little jab
at her son’s team. She replied to a comment on her Instagram post
saying “we just need his bike to work how he likes it”. Williamson has a
strong record, having spun spanners for the likes of Ryan Villopoto and
James Stewart. He is open to working in the industry again, but his
departure from the big K certainly is the end of an era.