FMF KTM’s Trystan Hart taking the Red Bull Outliers Hard Enduro win in Canada is one thing, but Cody Webb putting a Yamaha 450 second and Braxton Hintze claims Fantic’s first-ever Pro podium.

Located in the Canadian Badlands near Steveville, Alberta, the terrain at Red Bull Outliers is parts star of the show. Unlike any other race in the world, the steep hills and technical coulees challenged racers of all skill levels, this year drawing over 320 riders from Canada and the United States.

Serving this year as a US Hard Enduro Series Exhibition race, and tying the North America offroad communities, the race also attracted the local hero and newly crowned US Hard Enduro Champion Trystan Hart and Cody Webb taking some of the limelight racing a YZ450FX four-stroke in the series.

Red Bull Canada and Shane Cuthbertson from RAD 2.0 have been working on this event for the past year, and it showed with volunteers on every corner, great track layout and lots for spectators to enjoy including a dramatic final hillclimb for the Pro class race which would decide the podium.

Welcome to the Badlands

The Outliers format adjusted to run both days at the Badlands venue this year with riders racing a short Prologue on Friday morning for times and start row positions with eight classes divided into three categories and courses; Pro, Expert, and Amateur.

The first main race of the weekend was the Amateur and Pro Women classes on Friday afternoon around an 8km course based on the Prologue.

130 racers mass starting in waves for a 2hr race was a hit among the spectators, who were arriving on school buses to the Red Bull Oasis viewing area.

Since this race revolves around steep hills and canyons, there was no shortage of lines of riders trying to make it up multiple sections of each hill and with a lot of riders assisting each other.

The top three Amateurs were Blaze Crowe with an impressive five laps, Christian Shaw, and Tanner Sessa. The top three Pro Women were Corey Ireton, Magalie Larouche, and Oshi Hampson.

Sunday morning saw the 115 riders in three expert classes racing for 2.5 hours with added harder sections on course. Around double the spectators showed up to watch Jordyn Gosteli win the Expert Overall, with Phillip Kirk and Kendall Smith finishing in second and third, respectively.

Pro Class Main Event

The Pro Main Event started in the afternoon, with 30 athletes taking off all at once to compete on the toughest Red Bull Outliers course of the weekend.

Trystan Hart was sick leading up to the race and felt the pressure as ever at his hometown race with Cody Webb racing a Yamaha YZ450FX for the first time in hard enduro also.

Predictably, Hart grabbed the holeshot, and didn't lose his lead the entire race, averaging 21-minute laps which no-one could match. Webb settled into second and would remain there the entire race – both ‘cleaning’ nearly every hill and not crashing.

The real battles were behind the front two. KRD Hui's Ryder Guest in third place for the first couple laps, with IRC Beta's Branden Petrie right on his tail in fourth. A collision between the two resulted in mechanical issues for the both of them, setting them back several places.

A three-way battle for third place formed between Fantic USA's Braxton Hintze, IRC Beta's James Flynn and 2025 USHE A Class Champion, Niko Piazza, who was also making his Pro Class debut. Flynn also was suffering a starter issue, so was trying his best to keep up with a strong Hintze.

Xtinction hill decides the podium

Red Bull Outliers opened a final section for the top racers, dubbed Xtinction, which towered above the Red Bull Oasis and had thousands of spectators lining the bottom. Trystan Hart was the first to enter Xtinction, which consisted of several ups and downs that were some of the steepest these guys have seen in competition.

On the final hill, Hart spent a few minutes tick tacking his way up, and crossed the finish line in just over two hours with a huge roar of the crowd. Webb followed 13 minutes behind, and also made great work on the hill with his 450 four-banger for second.

This is how it looked for the race winner...

Hintze and Flynn were battling for a couple laps, only 15 seconds apart from each other, and were given access to finish on the final hill. They were neck and neck, until Flynn didn't make the first hill successfully, allowing Hintze to pull away to the final hill, a couple minutes ahead.

Hintze was nearing the top, when a charging Flynn made short work of the hill, actually passing Hintze by inches at the top. But Hintze had the preferred line and went through the finish line only 10 seconds ahead of Flynn, capturing the crowd with one of the most dramatic finishes the US Hard Enduro Series has had all season.

This was also the first Pro podium for the 17-year-old Hintze, and Fantic's first podium in a Pro hard enduro event.

Red Bull Outliers was a great display of these hard enduro athletes, and the entire event team hosted a very successful and entertaining event. Next up on the 2025 US Hard Enduro Series is Quinn Wentzel's Hollow Point Hard Enduro, which is this weekend in Wellsville, Ohio.

Main event results:

Full results: https://my.raceresult.com/357963/

More information: www.ushardenduro.com

Photo Credit: US Hard Enduro | Calafia Concepts