Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1540850
October 2025 15 Don't Blow It: Brandy and Korie were racing for the overall. I was so worried one of them was gonna do something dumb and crash out because they wanted to beat the other. I shouldn't have worried. They held it together and we took the win. But it is very true that you should ride a li le more conserva vely and not take unnecessary risk when you have a twenty-seven-minute lead over second place, as opposed to a twenty-seven-sec- ond lead Final Moto Team Tac cs: Korie needed about twenty seconds to move into second overall in- dividual for the week. So when I saw the girl, she was ba ling off the moto track, picking up her bike and preparing to get back on, I swung a li le wider to the outside, forcing her to wait a second or two extra before re-entering. Ava Silvestri, behind me and ba ling for posi on, did the same. Korie came out on top by a few seconds. Yay teamwork! HOW- EVER. Do not ever-ever-ever stop to help a team- mate during the final moto. Do not push their bike. Do not give them tools. Nothing. This cost Team Sweden the Junior World trophy a few years back. But ge ng in the way a li le extra on the moto track? No rules against that, as far as I'm aware :D With all of this being said it is important not to let all these possible turning points distract from the other, smaller, even mundane pi alls and decisions: let off the brake here. Hold it wide there. Le line instead of right. Do jump down the hill. Don't jump up the step-up. To lane split or not to lane split on the transfers. Every one of these decisions, branching out into near infinity, to a variety of outcomes, mul verse style – these are the founda ons upon which a win or loss rest. The Fruit At the end of it all, despite minor frustra ons and near misses, we climbed to the top, the three of us. Korie, Brandy, and I looked out over the world we had con- quered, as the Star-Spangled Banner rang out from the stage and we held our flags high… and our trophy too. As we came in from the final moto, the team prepared the champagne and popped the bo les. There's noth- ing quite as sweet as success, or podium champagne… except maybe those figs. Warm figs in the sun They fall apart in my hands Sweet beyond compare US Women's World Trophy Team An Kallonen Rachel Gu sh Brandy Richards Korie Steede US Women's World Trophy Team An Kallonen Rachel Gu sh Brandy Richards Korie Steede