US Hard Enduro: Webb Only Finisher at Tough Like RORR, Hart Wins Overall Keystone Challenge
A bumper (insane!) weekend of US Hard Enduro saw rider tackling two races, back-to-back at the Tough Like Rorr and Locked n Loaded Hard Scramble saw Cody Webb and Trystan Hart trade wins.
The second running of the already infamous Keystone Challenge in Pennsylvania, consisting of two very difficult races on the three-day Memorial Day weekend, is being claimed the toughest hard enduro weekend in North America.
Tough Like RORR and the Locked n Loaded Hard Scramble are only 30 minutes apart, but both events have very different terrain and are challenging for all skill levels.
Cody Webb of FactoryONE Sherco won the first race at Tough Like RORR, in one of the most impressive USHE finishes to date where he was the only finisher.
The Keystone Challenge overall winner however was determined by the best moto-style scores between the two races. With Webb finishing 1-2 and Hart 2-1, the second race broke the tie and it was Trystan Hart of FMF KTM Factory Racing taking his second consecutive Keystone Challenge overall victory.
It wasn’t an easy win on day one for Cody though...
The double-header weekend were also rounds four and five of the Bulletproof Designs US Hard Enduro Premier Championship, and the second round of the AMA East Hard Series, Presented by IRC Tire.
$40,000 race purse
Tough Like RORR was celebrating their 10th anniversary this year, with the Reading Off Road Riders raising their overall purse to $40,000, one of the largest hard enduro race purses in the world.
This race in Tamaqua has a reputation for being a genuine beatdown, with times lasting over four hours usually and having only a handful of finishers that actually make it to the flag in the six-hour limit.
After Trystan Hart’s incredible no-footpeg win last year, the Reading Off Road Riders and course designer Rob Mohn wanted to step up the difficulty, both for the amateurs and Pros. The race started on Saturday with the first qualifier, where the nearly 300 racers lined up by class and went out for a medium-difficulty loop.
It was Factory Gas Gas’ Will Riordan who won this qualifier in 45 minutes, finishing over 30 seconds ahead of Trystan Hart and Cody Webb.
The first 120 racers that finished were qualified into Sunday’s main race, while the remaining did a LCQ in the afternoon. Over 100 amateurs then raced a separate 10-mile loop, fighting for the 10 spots available for that opportunity to race on Sunday.
Main race beats ’em down
With 130 racers on the start with rows of 10 wide, the main race format was going to be a shorter first lap followed by a longer and much more difficult second lap, with a cutoff time of six hours. Another factor of difficulty was Saturday night’s storm that soaked the course just enough to increase the technicality even more than it was previously planned.
IRC Tire’s James Flynn got the holeshot of Sunday’s main race and the racers made their ways up the old strip mine, where hundreds of spectators were waiting for them.
The front pack was quickly split up into two groups, with the front battle being between Cody Webb and Trystan Hart, followed by Factory Rockstar Husqvarna’s Ryder LeBlond, Logan Bolopue, and Will Riordan fighting for the third position.
This was the trend for the first couple hours, until Hart had a starter failure that set him back over 45 minutes behind Webb, after he worked on it and got it fixed. Webb was now on his own in the backside of the property in a section called “Nightmare”, where he pushed through the insanely difficult course with the humidity and heat rising as the race went on.
In the group that was following, Riordan pushed ahead and kept Bolopue and LeBlond behind with a strong pace. The Australian has never finished on the podium at a USHE Premier Championship round, and he was more hungry than ever to prove he had it in him to do so.
Bike problems for Hart
Hart was pushing hard after fixing his bike, but just couldn’t catch up to Webb in this type of environment, and Webb was pushing hard. Nearing the end, Webb dropped into the new section named “Brain Damage”, designed by Chuck DeLullo.
This is where Webb found his limit and was pushing beyond his physical abilities, taking much longer to get through than expected and barely making it out. Webb ended up making it to the finish line, with minutes to spare before the six-hour cut off, and collapsing to the ground after he stopped at the checkered flag due to heat exhaustion.
His team was cooling him off in the shade and he ended up going to the hospital for two litres of IV drips, but was overall okay that evening after the scary situation.
Hart finished at a checkpoint earlier without dropping into “Brain Damage”, leaving Cody Webb as the only finisher of Tough Like RORR, winning $12,000.
Riordan finished at a checkpoint near Nightmare in third place for his first-ever podium position, with Bolopue and LeBlond finishing close by in fourth and fifth, respectively.
…and go again!
Most hard enduro races are usually the only event of the weekend, but the Keystone Challenge is a double-header with Locked and Loaded Hard Scramble only 30 minutes away in Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania, with the High Mountain Dirt Riders running this event for the third year at the 1800 acre property.
The Race Director, Mike Soudas, is also the US Hard Enduro’s Scoring Director and East Hard Enduro Director with a lot of experience behind this five-hour race consisted of a full lap on a 16-mile course, then two extra laps around the latter half of the main course, which featured harder sections. The terrain here was very different from what the racers experienced at Tough Like RORR, but the weather again played a factor.
The race kicked off in a large field, with each class getting a full row at the start. Team KRD’s Ryder Guest from Hawaii pulled the holeshot, and was the first rider to enter the woods. Trystan Hart was the only pro to go down on the start, sliding out while and entering the woods about 30 riders back.
The first half of the course was a bit faster with rocky trails and tight singletrack, but was only going to be ridden once by everyone, making it a great way to spread the amateurs apart and give them a challenge. At the halfway point of lap one, Cody Webb and Will Riordan entered the endurocross section close to each other, with a charging pack of pros close behind, heading for the tougher side of the property.
Hart 30th to 1st
Stairway, Tombstone, Green Acres, Throat Punch, and Penny's Revenge were just a few of the many sections that were part of that second half of the race.
Trystan Hart eventually caught up to the lead pack, and picked his way through to the front and wouldn’t look back with a several minutes long lead the remainder of the race.
Webb and Riordan were in a tight battle, swapping positions nearly a dozen times in the final two half laps, making it an exciting result.
The skies unleashed heavy rain around the midway point of the race, making some sections more difficult, but also cleaning the rocks and making some more passable. This variability added some misery for the amateurs that were already struggling, but some of the pros actually enjoyed the rain and it played in their advantage.
The rain settled and Hart kept his lead, winning the Locked and Loaded Hard Scramble in 4.5 hours. Webb pulled ahead of Riordan near the end of the final lap, securing second with Riordan finishing in third.
Ryder LeBlond finished in fourth, with Logan Bolopue fifth. A notable effort was Team KRD from Kauai, Hawaii, who favored the wet weather and slick conditions. Ryder Guest secured the sixth spot, Kamakana Waiwaiole-Kahalepuna finished seventh, and Kawelo Huddy finished in the eighth positions for their first time in a USHE Premier Championship top-10 together as a team.
Gutish tops women’s class
Rachel Gutish competed at both races as well, finishing in first and winning the overall in the Pro Women's division. On the Amateur side, Riley Bender won both races and came away with the Keystone Challenge overall in the Amateur division, with Braxton Hintze and Jobel Coronado finishing in second and third, respectively.
The Keystone Challenge weekend was a success and is showing promise for growth in the future, as both clubs provide racers of all levels a great experience and plenty of challenging riding time. The USHE Premier Championship has a couple months off until the Donner Hard Enduro in California on August 10-11, followed by the Red Bull Tennessee Knockout on August 22-25.
For full results: http://www.moto-tally.com/USHE/Results.aspx
More information: www.ushardenduro.com
Social Media: @ushardenduro / #ushardenduro / #easthardenduro
Photo Credit: Jenny Keller Photography
