Joey Leto raced at the USA BMX Lone Star Nationals on April 19th – 21st. The track, located in Houston, TX, is very technical compared to other tracks around the country. The jumps are steep which makes it more difficult for racers to keep their speed in the straightaways. That, coupled with wind and rain throughout the weekend, made it a very challenging race weekend for all of the competitors.
Leto’s race weekend began on Thursday. There was a Pro-am race that the track hosted as a pre-race before the National. A pro-am is an open race where amateurs can sign up and race against pros for prize money. The race consisted of mostly racers who competed the following day at the National as well as some amateur racers who joined the group. Leto raced well in the pro-am on Thursday and started his 4-day race weekend with a 4th place in the final at the Pro-am.
The Next 2 days were USA BMX Nationals that counted towards the National points series. Both Friday and Saturday were rough for Leto. He rode well in the first three qualifying rounds on both days and had a good gate pick going into the semi-finals. “I was feeling confident and had some of my best starts ever,” Leto recalled. Unfortunately, he crashed in both Friday and Saturday’s semi-final. “It was a hard 2 days and I felt that the results didn’t match the speed I brought to the race. Both crashes were unavoidable.”
On Friday, Leto was in a qualifying position and the rider to the inside slid out in the turn directly into Leto causing him to crash. On Saturday, it was raining which made the turns slick. There was a big crash involving most riders in the semi to crash in the first turn. Leto got caught up in the wreck and wasn’t able to finish in the top 4 after the crash.
Sunday was a UCI HC event counting toward international points. Leto was stiff from his previous two wrecks but wanted to finish the race on a positive note. He qualified for the main on Sunday and ended with a 3rd place finish. “It felt good to get a podium and end on a stronger note,” said Leto.
“Conditions made racing tough, and crashing made it more difficult to be mentally prepared to race. It’s been a hard season for me so far this year but it’s a part of the sport. As always I appreciate Routes’ support as I continue on this journey.”
