Tarah Gieger Locks Down Silver at X Games 18

By Ryan Cooley/MCG

Six of the top women’s motocross athletes in the world gathered inside the Staples Center in Los Angeles Saturday night to square off in the X Games Moto X Women’s Racing competition, and TLD / Lucas Oil / Honda & Red Bull’s Tarah Gieger once again battled her way to the silver medal — her third-straight in the event.

After finishing third in the event’s lone qualifying heat earlier in the evening, Gieger looked to crank things up a notch as she headed into the 10-lap final. Unfortunately, a mediocre jump out of the gate would shatter her hopes of getting out front early, but she was still able to sneak her way into the second spot by turn number two.

With last year’s gold medal winner, Vicki Golden, in her sights, Gieger was looking smooth and determined aboard her Red Bull-backed TLD Honda but was unable to make up ground on her rival. An arenacross specialist, Golden clicked off 10 near-perfect laps on the tight Staples Center circuit, leaving Gieger to charge her way to silver.

“Vicki kills it on these tight arenacross-style tracks, so this was honestly no surprise,” Gieger said after the race. “The track was tight and really tough to pass on just like last year, so when she got out front early, I knew it would be tough to reel her in.”

Gold: Vicki Golden
Silver: Tarah Gieger
Bronze: Livia Lancelot
Fourth: Meghan Rutledge
Fifth: Jessica Patterson
Sixth: Tatum Sik