Photo by: Ray Archer
We knew going into the Glen Helen MXGP of the USA that the Americans would have an advantage on their home soil, but we don’t think anyone knew just how dominant they would be in the MX2 class. On Saturday, Shane McElrath took the win for the Troy Lee Designs/KTM team, but his teammate, Jessy Nelson, struggled to finish 6th after a dead last start.
On Sunday, though, Nelson left no doubt who the fastest MX2 rider was on this weekend. The KTM rider nailed the starts in both motos, and he pulled a disappearing act on the field in both of them. The #79 American checked out to a twelve-second win in moto one and crossed the line with a five-second lead in moto two for the 1-1 sweep and his first ever professional outdoor win. In the end, Nelson and McElrath gave America and the Troy Lee Designs/KTM team the 1-2 podium sweep on the weekend.
After the race was over, I caught up to Nelson as he exited the podium for a quick interview. As you can hear, there was a lot of celebrating going on around us at the time. Click play to hear what Jessy had to say.
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