GRIT 312 — 450SX — 2nd — Ken Roczen

With the championship within reach, Ken Roczen would display a remarkable level of focus as practice transpired in Denver. The red-plate holder was swift throughout all areas of the course, showcasing proficiently while hopping with fluidity amongst technical rhythm lanes. Enthusiasts of the sport were in amazement of just how well, Roczen looked with this much pressure upon him...and Ken's trajectory continued to soar as gate(s) would fall for Heat Two of 450SX competition. Quickly, Ken would dash into a fourth-place residency behind Cooper Webb. A series of passing attempts ensued, and finally, with around three minutes and fifty-seconds remaining on the clock, Ken would overtake the standing (held by Webb) as a slight lapse in speed occurred, by that of the Yamaha athlete in the sand. From there, Roczen would do his best to nullify the gap between he anc Chase Sexton. However, despite notable effort, Ken was forced to reside in third as the final flag was thrown. For the finale, Ken would initially battle within the top-five, before advancing ahead, due to Eli Tomac's mistake! From there, he would battle with Cooper Webb (third), before passing the Yamaha rider in the sand! It was a quick sequence of events, and from there, he would track-down Jorge Prado. There was a bit more than seventeen minutes left on the clock, before Roczen made the pass "stick" on the KTM athlete... with a series of bold moves near the "SX" triple. And from there, Ken was urgently trying to track-down the Honda athlete. The gap, however, wouldn't be diminished. Roczen knew what was at stake, and knowing the points total (along with how well Hunter was riding), Ken continued to surge ahead in the second-place standing. However, as time progressed, Hunter's pace couldn't be matched. Regardless of Ken's creativity amongst the hard-packed sections (or even the sand area, his rival from Australia seemed to be on a slightly higher level. However, instead of pushing a sense of velocity that could jeopardize his championship chances, Ken made sure to remain mistake-free in the runner-up category. He would near the checkered flag, and could see that applause would erupt for that of Hunter. Rather than be discouraged, the German competitor would ultimately fly across the final double registered in second-place...which created a "winner take all" narrative, for the series finalé in Salt Lake City!