Trail Rider Magazine

November 2025 15 know what happened up on that hill, but it was ugly. The basket is broken, the cover is sha ered. It is a shocking, gaping mechanical wound. Fran is distraught. I give her a half-hug and promise to tell Steve Holcombe, her boyfriend, when I see him at the first special test… there's nothing else I can do. Of course, I want to win, but not like this. It also served as a stark reminder that the ma- chines we ride can fail in an instant, and even though the task ahead of me is en rely manage- able, everything could s ll fall apart. At the first test, I'm s ll so psyched out by the whole morning that my dad told me to just trail ride the first en- duro test if I needed to, but above all I had to stay calm. I trail rode. It didn't ma er; I won the test by nearly a minute. And then something almost mi- raculous happened. I relaxed. And I had fun. I was whooping with joy in the cross test. Riding down the road trying to snatch falling leaves out of the air. Singing to myself on the transfers, making jokes with my dad and Phil Rowe before each test. Everything was perfect. I was having the most fun I've ever had at a race. Enough that I was almost sorry it was over, even if I was hit with a huge wave of relief the moment I crossed the finish line. If my team hadn't wanted to celebrate, I would have asked the promoters if I could go out for another loop… Rosie waves me on, and I ride down Paddock A, into the Rieju tent. The Factory Rieju team has giant banners of Rosie and I, for our first and second place finishes in the series. They have confe guns and champagne and fast-tempo Spanish music. Every photographer at the EnduroGP seemed to be stand- ing there wai ng. Everyone wanted a word with the history-maker. But they had to wait, because although the American knew how to win, the Span- ish knew how to party! The mechanics laughed and sang and danced along to their music. I was tossed in the air mul ple mes. I thought my team manager was going to blow up Rosie's bike doing a burnout. Samantha showed up with her American flag and draped it around my shoulders. I hugged my parents and shook hands with the en re team. I answered ques on a er ques on from the media. I could feel my phone buzzing as message a er message rolled in from back home. My parents and I had been the only Americans at the race, but it seemed everyone back home had been watching. Then finally, when I couldn't take the lights and the noise any longer, I snuck away, back to my van parked up at Paddock B. I sat quietly and took everything in.

• Cover