Ryan Leyba

Surprised? Ya, me neither. But, as much as Ricky owned tonight's Step Up, last year's X Games gold medalist, Ronnie Renner kept the G.O.A.T. honest and on his toes. If you witnessed Ricky launch the Step Up lip at the Moto X World Championships in April, than you know just how unstoppable RC can be granted he keeps it on two wheels—which he did tonight. What started off as a stacked field of bar hopping talent including Mike Mason, Ronnie Renner, Tommy Clowers and Brian Deegan, quickly diminished as the bar began to reach the 32' mark. Step Up rookie, Mike Mason was the first to get eliminated, but not without putting up a strong fight on his Honda CR250. Ya, I said 250 and yes, that's a two-stroke. In fact, Mason was the only rider donning a two-stroke, which in my opinion put the Mase at a major disadvantage. "Man, Mason looked so good and I honestly thought he had a chance at winning, but it's easy to see that his bike selection hurt him", exclaims Best Whip winner Todd Potter. "I rode Step Up at the MXWC this year and discovered first hand how difficult it is to compete with the guys on the bigger 450 four-strokes", finishes Potter.

After Mason got knocked out of contention, the rest of the field shortly followed preparing Renner and Carmichael for a head-to-head battle. Both Ricky and Renner were able to clear the 32' bar, but once it got bumped up to 33', it was all Carmichael. This years Step Up marks the second time that a dedicated Supercross racer won gold, with Jeremy McGrath being the first in 2004. It'd be interesting to know how this gold medal stacks up to winning a Supercross championship, but if I were to guess I'd say it's right up there, especially since it's a first for RC.

(expn.com)