Ryan Dungey will be aiming to break James Stewart's winning streak at Colorado this weekend. Image: Simon Cudby.

Lakewood Colorado marks the next stop on the 2012 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship for round three of the series, where the riders hit the mile high altitude of the Thunder Valley circuit.

Yoshimura Suzuki’s James Stewart leads the 450 class by 14 points heading into the round, but it is the second place rider Ryan Dungey of the Red Bull KTM team who has had the most recent success at Thunder Valley.

Dungey has taken victory at the last two anuual events, going bar-to-bar last year with eventual 2011 champion Ryan Villopoto, winning the overall. In addition Dungey had a dominant performance at the same venue during the 2010 Motocross of Nations.

After two solid third overall finishes in the first two rounds of racing, expect to see the fast starting Mike Alessi pushing to stay up-front on his MotoConcepts ride.

In the 250 Class Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett rolls into Colorado with the points lead, and says he enjoys the ruts, high altitude and track layout on offer for round three.

After sweeping the opening round in dominating fashion and finishing up second overall at round two in Texas, Baggett holds a 14-point leader over GEICO Honda’s Eli Tomac.

Tomac, a Colorado native, will hope to use his familiarity with the effects of higher elevation to his advantage this weekend. The loss of horsepower and thinner air will be much less of a problem for the winner of round two at Freestone Raceway.

Red Bull KTM’s Ken Roczen has been solid so far in his rookie AMA outdoor season, riding tracks for the first time in a brand new series to the young German rider.

For Roczen he will now have the opportunity to race a track that he has previously riden and done well on. The former world MX2 champion put in an impressive performance at Thunder Valley in 2010 at the Motocross of Nations, expect more of the same this weekend from Roczen.

With close battles in both classes and a deep field of talent, expect to see more great racing this weekend at round three. Stay tuned to MotoOnline.com.au for updates on the action.