Paul Whibley, 32, of New Zealand, overcame incredibly dusty conditions on his AmPro Yamaha WR450F Sunday to win the Ironman Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) season final in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

Whibley finished almost a minute ahead of fellow Yamaha rider Thad DuVall, of Williamstown, W.Va.. Hoosier Chris Bach gave Indiana fans something to cheer about. The first year pro from Crown Point, Ind., finished third on a KTM.

This year’s Ironman will go down in history as the dusty event in the race’s history. Central Indiana is in a three-month drought and the dust was so thick that bikes died from clogged air filters and other dust-related ailments. The chalky dry trail was treacherously slick. The dirt crumbled to a fine talcum powder that was up to two-feet thick in places obscuring tree root and rocks. The hidden obstacles caught many riders out. Crashes were numerous.

Several of the top riders pitted to have air filters changed during the three-hour race. The only thing that made the race halfway doable was the fact that there was a breeze that kept the dust from lingering in one place.

In spite of the conditions and a crash on a steep hill that bent his handlebars, Whibley was able to hang on to take his second straight victory, closing out the season in a strong fashion and nailing down third in the final standings behind champion Josh Strang, who finished 11th in the XC1 today, and runner up Charlie Mullins, who was 13th in XC1 in the finale. Strang had bike problems.

Paul Whibley talks about winning the 2010 edition of the Ironman GNCC race in Crawfordsville, Indiana on Oct. 24, 2010.

Whibley
For complete results and additional info go to http://www.gnccracing.com/.