West Virginia’s scenic Snowshoe Mountain Resort played host to round nine of the 2023 GNCC Racing, for the most rugged and grueling race of the season. Since 2007, GNCC racers have invaded what is considered to be one of the premier ski resorts on the East Coast. Paying homage to the legendary Blackwater 100, this event is one of a kind. Here’s a few things we learned on the mountain…
It Was Tough
As we mentioned, this event serves as the modern-day tribute to the legendary Blackwater 100, the original GNCC event. As the crow flies, Snowshoe Mountain sits just around 55-miles from Davis, West Virginia where the Blackwater was held. The terrain is fairly similar, so just like the Blackwater, Snowshoe stands out as the toughest event of the season.
This year was no different. In addition to the copious rocks and roots which litter the Snowshoe course on a good day, rain fell throughout the entire week leading into the event to add a little more mud to the mix. Snowshoe Mountain is full of natural springs, so even on a dry year there is still mud to be found, but this year’s Snowshoe event had even more than normal.
The course starts out on the ski village, then down the slopes for about a mile of faster trail, then heads straight into the infamous Howard’s Hole; a long section full of mud and rocks… Well, let’s be real, these rocks are actual boulders sticking out of the ground! Picking your way through the deep mud and large rocks is already a big challenge. From there, racers encounter a bit of a break as they race to the top of the mountain across the ski slopes before heading out on the western side of the mountain at the four-mile mark, where there is essentially no break from the rocks, roots and mud for miles and miles.
When they finally reach the nine-mile mark, there’s a short break before a long and rocky uphill climb to the pro pits and an all-out dash to the finish… and that’s just one lap! Snowshoe is a unique beast with some of the fastest trail of the year peppered in with some of the rockiest trails of the year, and arguably the best views of the entire series, as well. Not sure how many riders are really taking in those views after battling so many miles of rocks, roots and mud, though.
Ben Kelley Is An Animal
After winning the 2021 GNCC title, Ben Kelley promptly came into the 2022 season stronger than ever, winning the first six rounds consecutively. Kelley then suffered a broken leg at a National Enduro event, which sidelined him for the remainder of the 2022 season. Ben’s leg has been slow to heal and has continued to nag him throughout 2023 but he fought through to now win two of the toughest races of the year; the brutally rough Wild Boar GNCC in Florida and now the equally grueling Snowshoe GNCC.
Even fighting through the leg injury, Kelley has still been very solid throughout the 2023 season. Other than a 33rd place overall finish at The John Penton, Kelley has not finished worse than sixth place throughout the entire season and has even led the points chase prior to that John Penton event. With the Snowshoe win, he still sits within striking distance of the championship at just four points out of the lead. Three rounds remain when the series starts back up in September. Kelley will be one of the most motivated guys in the series when racing resumes.
The Title Hunt is Heating Up
There are more than a few challengers looking to claim that same title, however, other contenders did not find themselves on the overall podium at this rac. Last year’s Snowshoe winner and eventual series champion, Jordan Ashburn, had a solid race at Snowshoe to finish on the podium for the third time in 2023 while Johnny Girroir, who also has a race win this season, rounded out the podium in third.
After a disappointing ninth place in the previous round, Steward Baylor came into Snowshoe looking to regain his points lead. While the race may not have gone exactly how Baylor wanted, he still took fourth at the end of the day. Additionally, the points leader heading into the event, Craig Delong, would have some issues of his own and eventually finish 11th place overall.
The combination of all these things has now set up an easy three-way battle for the GNCC National Championship through the final three rounds, with a fourth rider also in striking distance. Baylor and Delong sit tied in the points hunt with 178 points each. Kelley sits in the third-place spot, just four points behind and Ashburn holds the fourth-place spot with a deficit of 25-points. With an overall race win paying 30 points, this sets up the top four guys to have an all-out battle down to the wire.
XC2 Is Close Too!
We talk about this every week, but the XC2 class has been pretty exciting for several years. This year is no different as defending XC2 champ Lyndon Snodgrass has been sidelined since the sixth round of the season, leaving the door wide open for a first-time XC2 champ.
Liam Draper has been really solid throughout the season and after a few tough races earlier in the year, Draper came really close to winning two races in a row, getting beat out on the final lap. That served as some serious motivation as Draper now holds back-to-back race wins and has taken over control of the XC2 class points lead after the Snowshoe win. However, it’s still a tight battle as Ruy Barbosa has continued to stay hot on Draper’s heels, landing a second-place finish at Snowshoe. He’s three points behind Draper in the standings.
Angus Riordan has also put together a great 2023 season thus far with a race win and four podiums thus far, including a third place at Snowshoe. Riordan sits in the third-place position of the XC2 points as well, but he’s just one-point ahead of Cody Barnes, who finished a respectable fifth place at Snowshoe. This leaves a question of who finished Snowshoe in the fourth-place spot, and that would be XC2 rookie, Grant Davis, who rode to tie his best finish of the 2023 season.
Davis came out of the GNCC Youth and A-class ranks into his first XC2 season and has shown some serious speed throughout but has had a few issues that have prevented him from better finishes. However, that’s often the case with XC2 class rookies, and he’s learning quickly. We very well may see him put in some serious rides in the latter part of the season, especially after being selected to the US Junior Trophy team for this year’s ISDE! Stay tuned!
Summer Break Time
With Snowshoe in the books, the GNCC series is officially on summer break. This is a tradition as it’s just too darn hot to race for three-hours in the July or August heat, plus trails would be really dusty (you can’t water a 12-mile loop) and additionally this gives the GNCC staff time to manage the Monster Energy AMA Amateur National at Loretta Lynn’s, as well as help with the Budds Creek and Ironman Pro Motocross events.
For the racers, this is a time to regroup, take a little time off and prepare for the final three rounds of the 2023 season, which will rev back up in September. Until then, some racers have a lot of time to think and could finish the season even stronger than they started. With championships still on the line, the final three rounds of the season have potential to be some of the most exciting yet.
