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MARVIN MUSQUIN
450 MX / 3RD
IMAGE / KILPATRICK WORDS / MATTINGLY DESIGN / TILLS
>> Each sport has a certain group and spectacle of fans, that are considered the epitome of audience attraction. College basketball has the Cameron Crazies at the University of Duke; the “12th man” is notoriously proclaimed in the town of Seattle for the Seahawks, and motocross has the “Rebels of Red Bud”. A clus- ter of rampant fans who flock to the fence lines, roars louder than that of actual engine noise, and the after party is that of a mini Woodstock. They’re all search- ing for a rider to really spark the flame of excitement, and to get all those on the hillside on their feet. The man for the job? Marvin Musquin. With the clashing of the metal to begin moto number one, the number 25 accelerated out of the divot behind the pad, his rear wheel chewing the soil and spraying all behind him. With Blake Baggett, Eli Tomac, and the rest of the field in tow, Musquin took over the lead from Christian Craig, and prepared to lay a French beatdown on the rest of the field. Sprinting away with his unusual pogo’ing tactics, like jumping through the chop out of the trees, all seemed to be well until a green Blur appeared alongside; it was Tomac. ET3 forced his way to the inside prior to the leap, and pushed Marvin to the wayside. A trailing Blake Baggett would follow suit, as Mar- vin did everything he could, but just was a tick off of the leaders pace. He would cross the line for his country in third, the first foreigner to do so on this celebra- tion of independence. A sixth place start to begin moto two, saw Musquin trailing Josh Grant for quite sometime. He would push his way around the number thirty three, the way he was floating across the tops of the rollers after the leap was pure poetry. Fighting alongside Weston Peick for a bit, his crafty antics would rare their head, and he would push into a podium spot. He would stay here, seeing the shirt tail of Anderson dangle just in front, be he couldn’t surmount a charge. He would waive his flag proud, all the while cheering with the fans on the podium, a courageous third overall.
14 GRITMOTO • JULY 2, 2017