Eckmann continues winning streak

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The name at the top of the results sheet of the USGP New Belgium Cup's second round was the same as every other USGP round this year, Yannick Eckmann. The German sped into the lead from the gun, but unlike the previous day when he led from start to finish, he had to put in a lap-long chase to overcome a dropped chain that pushed him back mid-field not long after the start.

"I got the hole shot, but at the run up the chain fell off and I tried to shift it back up and it didn't work, so I had to stop and put it back on. It happened before, so I knew what to do this time, and I didn't lose that much time," Eckmann said.

"I didn't panic, I just kept cool and tried to work my way back up."

Jeffrey Bahnson, yesterday's runner-up, capitalized on the mistake to take the lead, but by the end of the opening lap, Eckmann had clawed his way through the field and was just seconds behind, taking advantage of the much faster and less technical conditions than the mud which Bahnson prefers.

"I took [the dropped chain] as an opportunity to attack and make him work a little harder so maybe later in the race he would have a bit less energy," Bahnson said. "But I knew he'd catch back up."

Mid-way through the second lap, that prediction came true, and with both together it was once agagin Eckmann who proved more powerful. The Hot Tubes rider distanced Bahnson for good with two laps to go. From there, it was a mere formality for the lanky 17-year-old.

The race for third place was a one-man show, with Bjorn Fox putting the Clif Bar development team into the bronze medal position for the second day in a row, following up on teammate Zane Godby's performance yesteray.

"It was a faster course today, which I prefer. I could keep the pace up, they got a gap on me, but I just kept it hard and tried to hold off everybody else," Fox said.

"It's good - it feels better. I feel like it's where I should have been yesterday."

Behind him, Cypress Gorry put in an impressive ride to move up from a second row start to finish just seconds from the podium. "I felt good and was able to move up throughout the race," Gorry said. "I could see [Fox] up there, but I just didn't have enough left to close the gap."