In our first-ever digitaloffroad.com online poll, we asked who will be the first rider other than Josh Strang or Charlie Mullins to win an XC1 GNCC race. We posted the poll a week before the Somerset GNCC, and since Mullins took the win there we decided to leave it up coming into the John Penton GNCC this weekend.
The Favorites
Has Whibs finally gotten the WR dialed in?
Looking at the results, Paul Whibley is the runaway leader with nearly 45% of the votes. Betting on the 2009 series champ makes sense, after all he did win 5 races last year. But, I’m sure I’m not the only one that has noticed the Axeman’s struggles so far this season. While he has three podium finishes this season, Whibley has never really been in the hunt for a win. It looks to me as though he has yet to completely gel with the WR, and with only 6 rounds left in the series time is running out for the champ to get some wins and get back into the title chase. Whibley did win the 2009 John Penton GNCC, as he and then teammate Jimmy Jarrett checked out from the pack and took the top two spots on the podium. Despite Whibley’s rough start to the season, he is the rider I voted for in the poll, and I certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the top spot of the box Sunday afternoon.
Holding down second in the results by a narrow margin, is XC1 rookie and privateer, Chris Bach. After his two incredible breakout performances at the first two rounds Bach has struggled to find the rhythm he had early in the year. Despite a DNF at the last round, Bach still sits 5th in the series points which for a rookie is awfully impressive. Bach proved in Florida that he has the speed to win races, but he is for sure still learning and his new-found fame has brought on pressures that he wasn’t prepared for and I think that has a lot to do with his struggles as of late (not the DNF, it was a mechanical). I think
Can Bach win in his rookie year?
it’s probably unfair to expect Bach to win a race in his rookie year, but I doubt many would’ve expected to see him nearly win the Florida race, so you never know!
“Bad” Thad DuVall rounded out our top-3 with 13.3% of the votes, only 1 percent behind Bach. Everyone knows Thad is fast, and without a doubt has the speed to win a GNCC overall. Heck, he nearly did it on a 250F at Snowshoe a couple of years ago. After a rough start in Florida, DuVall opened up a massive lead in Georgia and then proceeded to try and bury his head into the red Georgia clay, taking a digger that was bad enough it made Josh Strang stop in the middle of the trail to notify a course official of the crash as he though DuVall was seriously injured. All of those who had hoped DuVall would settle down and and not use a checkers or wreckers philosophy were definitely disappointed as it looked like he was well on his way to his first XC1 Pro Class win. Fortunately DuVall wasn’t seriously injured in the crash, and came back to race at Steele Creek the following round but only finished three laps, the same old bad luck Thad scenario.
Then came DuVall’s breakout ride of 2010, the Big Buck GNCC. DuVall led three of five laps, and kept Josh Strang in check nearly the entire race. The “Bad” Thad moment that everyone expected never happened, and he even mentioned on the podium that he had backed it down after his mom put on his pit board that there is nothing wrong with a 2nd-place finish! It seemed like the kid had finally gotten it!
DuVall followed up his Big Buck performance with a DNF at the Loretta Lynn’s GNCC and then crashing out and injuring his shoulder at Yadkinville. Maybe things hadn’t changed after all.
Enough speed? Yes. Enough patience? We'll find out!
After sitting out the Mountain Ridge round, DuVall went on to win the last round of the OMA series and appears to be firing on all cylinders again coming into the John Penton GNCC. The only question now is which Thad DuVall will show up and race, the “Ricky Bobby” DuVall from Georgia and Yadkinville, or the calm, cool, collected Thad from the Big Buck. Your guess is as good as mine!
The Dark Horses
Rounding out the poll are a handful of riders that without a doubt have the speed and potential to win a GNCC. Guys like Nate Kanney seem to be able to find lightning in a bottle and win almost of out nowhere, while a rider like Glenn Kearney has had a ton of close calls but has yet to win his first-ever GNCC race. It’s certainly tough to predict a winner, as there are so many variables in a three-hour cross country race. Although, if you were a betting man, it seems like Mullins or Strang would be the safest bets! I for one can’t wait for the Penton to see how this all plays out. Hit up the comment section below and let us know what you think!