Skyler Howes Wins America’s Longest Off-Road Race On Dakar Bike

The Husqvarna rider soloed his Rally bike to victory at the Vegas to Reno race.

Published on 08.18.2022

Starting just outside of Las Vegas and covering nearly 500 miles on its way to the finish near Reno, the grueling Vegas to Reno desert race takes riders through some of the most remote and rough desert terrain in the country. Famous for being the longest and fastest single-day offroad race in the U.S., this week’s 2022 edition saw riders face one of the most challenging routes in its 26-year history due to monsoon rains and flooding in the area.

Soloing his Husqvarna FR 450 Rally bike against a field of 2 or more rider teams, Skyler Howes iron manned his way through endless sections of slippery mud, dust-like silt, giant rocks and deep streams all the way to the finish line. When the dust had settled, the Husqvarna factory star had snatched the win — the second of his career.

Skyler Howes wins 2022 Vegas to Reno desert race on Dakar bike.

“I’m super-stoked to get the win! Especially as a solo rider versus the other teams. The organizers did an incredible job of managing the difficult conditions – so many of the dry lake beds were full of water and a lot of the rest of the course was destroyed by flooding,” said Skyler.

To add extra interest to this year’s race, organizers included the Open Pro class in Thursday’s time trial qualification. However, the added challenge didn’t work out well for Howes as a crash on the short three-mile loop resulted in the Husqvarna rider starting as the very last pro competitor in Friday’s main race.

Using both his skill and judgment to battle his way through the dust raised by the racers ahead of him, Howes steadily made progress through the course of the event. According to Skyler he was able to make some time up by skipping gas stops other riders had to make. “Thankfully riding the rally bike, I was able to carry on for longer without stopping for fuel and so that helped to make up time on the guys ahead. I just rode my own race and ticked off the miles. With a bit more clear air towards the end, I was able to make up those last few minutes I needed.”

Fighting his way through to a strong position, Howes found himself in cleaner air in the final 100 miles of the race and was able to push to make up time on his rivals. Ultimately delivering an impressively consistent and near mistake-free ride from start to finish, the FR 450 Rally rider was able to take the win by just over four minutes from second-placed, FX 450-mounted Dalton Shirey.

Skyler Howes and the Husqvarna Factory Racing team will next be in action at round three of the FIM Rally-Raid World Championship, the Rallye du Maroc, held October 1-6 in Morocco.