The realm of the podium, seems to be a figurative place for many in the respective 450cc demographic. Although it can be titled a “dream destination,” few will ever attain it; instead, pre-occupying themselves with the confines of the latter top-ten and top-twenty, in that regard too. Zach Osborne has visited this land time and time again, and believed with certainty that he could acquire it at this round in Salt Lake. Many of his opponents were already demoralized by the time they set foot on the start straightaway; and he used his omniscient mystique to fade them into the background, while he took the reign of his handlebars early on in qualification. He captivated many who watched him, ricocheting off these rock-hard berms with a portion of power that was out of this world; handling the speeds his engine could combust, with pure brute force. He had a stranglehold on both bike and competition, letting the chassis dance under him while keeping his vision focused forward. No-one on the track around him would undermine his abilities to plow ahead; and instead, they too were attempting to catch him. Much was the same for heat race implications, pushing into the number three spot to begin matters. All in all, you could sense that he was feeling the flow in every sense of the phrase; nestling the bike into the most minuscule grooves, all the while daunting a staggering pace. He moved around Kyle Cunningham, sending Husqvarna flying into second spot. A final destination of sorts, he would reside just off the rear fender of Ken Roczen, as all would come to a close. The main event meanwhile, was a coming out party of sorts for the Virginian; and a place where the number sixteen would thrive, on the sport’s largest stage. Putting his sixteen into first place, one lap after another, he would proceed to scurry away from the field; launching into a pathway of unbeknownst territory, especially on this sort of racing stage. Continuing to carry-on, he could sense that Cooper Webb was coming in awfully close; but he wouldn’t bow down, never once crumbling under the pressure presented by the number one rider. Osborne withstood the pressure until lap twenty-one; when Webb would make his way around. Tomac also, carried out tactics in a similar manner on lap twenty-three. Yet Osborne still had enough energy left, to create an admirable third place performance.