Geez it was cold at the SnoCross Final on Friday afternoon. Unlike Thursday when the sun was shining and yours truly managed to get by with just a sweater .. the conditions for the snowmobile madness were less than perfect.
With the snow piling up and the visibility at a minimum for the riders, the huge crowd gathered in Aspen did get their wish .. a showdown between Blair Morgan and Tucker Hibbert. And it was worth putting on five layers of fleece.
 |
| Let the racing begin. |
Let's set the stage first. Morgan first appeared on the Winter X radar in 1999 when he rode to a second place finish. In 2000, he once again claimed silver while the youngster Tucker Hibbert, a virtual unknown, shocked everyone by taking the gold. Last year, the two snowmobiling powers went at it but Hibbert took a bad fall and failed to medal. That cleared the way for Morgan to claim his first gold medal and set up the rematch.
On to the main event. When the riders took off, it wasn't Morgan or Hibbert who got the early lead, it was T.J. Gulla. Hitting a HUGE holeshot, Gulla found himself with a five-length lead early on. But Morgan was tailing him all along and it came to a head in the third lap. Morgan and Gulla hit the air, and each other, at the same time and like a bully taking lunch money from his victim, it was Morgan who zoomed away unscathed while Gulla was left trying to restart. Tomi Ahmasalo was holding strong in third place.
As for Tucker, he got off to a miserable start and found himself in eighth place early. But with Morgan increasing his lead, attention turned to Hibbert and he didn't disappoint. He quietly moved from eighth to sixth with one jump, then zoomed into fourth and before you could gripe about how freakin' cold it was, he was on Morgan's tail like a bad rash.
 |
| Blair Morgan bagged his fourth career Winter X Games medal. |
This was exactly what everyone was expecting and looking forward to. Five laps down, three to go and the gold medal up for grabs. But with Hibbert going as huge and fast as possible, he still wasn't able to find a line that would help him close the gap. Morgan held fast on the final two corners and crossed the finish line, successfully defending his SnoCross title.
"I just wanted to get a good start because the visibility was so bad," said Morgan with his gold medal in hand. "It was so hard to see out there with all the big bumps and stuff we developed that weren't there at the beginning of the day. I got out front and had a little bit of a lead but I could hear Tucker coming. With this weather I sucked in snow in the intake so I just wanted to hang on for the win."
Like any good X Games champion, Morgan never had a doubt.
"When I saw the two laps to go flag I knew even if he passed me I was going to get it right back."
Hibbert, who was obviously disappointed with his finish, looked on while Morgan was interviewed by the TV crew.
"I had some good lines out there but I just got behind. We did a lot of testing in high altitudes last week to get ready for this. It felt good but I just didn't get the break I needed at the start."
Morgan vs. Hibbert. Hibbert vs. Morgan. This is turning into one of the sickest rivalries at Winter X. Tune in next year.
Related Photos:
SnoCross Gallery
SnoCross Winners Gallery
Send to a friend
|
Submit your photo or video
Top Rated Photos |
Top Rated Videos |
Most Sent
