Ride onboard POV with race winner Cody Webb at the inaugural Moab Hard Enduro, round four of the 2024 AMA West Hard Enduro Series, Presented by Klim.

Over 250 racers showed up to Area BFE just outside of Moab, Utah making this the biggest US Hard Enduro turnout of this season. FactoryOne Sherco’s Cody Webb and Louise Forsley won both Pro classes, and some new names were on the podium at round four of the AMA West Hard Enduro Series.

USHE racers Mesa Lange and Joe Nemeth transitioned into promoters and took on the challenge of hosting a hard enduro race to Utah for the first time. The format was an easier prologue on Saturday that would set the start positions for Sunday’s main race.

The prologue was one lap and looped through some difficult sections of the property, giving the pros a feel of the terrain and the amateurs some good riding time. Cody Webb won the prologue in under 22 minutes, followed by teammate Cooper Abbott and Rieju USA’s Quinn Wentzel. The amateurs spent up to three hours out on the course to complete a lap, but there was an overwhelming consensus that this was one of the best prologue races yet.

Area BFE is nearly at 6000 feet elevation, and the high desert terrain had no shortage of slabs, sand, and endless rock gardens. The courses were relentless as there was not much transfer trail or smooth areas to take a break, so the arm pump and exhaustion from the roughness was definitely seen by many.

On Saturday evening, they hosted a Stacyc race for the kids, where about 20 youth rippers raced around a little enduro track with rocks and logs. This event was a fan favorite, as the future generation battled it out on their electric bikes, and Stacyc even gave away two bikes to two lucky kids!

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Sunday’s main race was a three lap event with a six hour cutoff with Pro/A and amateur splits, and on the last lap would have an added final section for the Pro/A racers. The racers started in rows of ten from Saturday’s results. Cody Webb showed up to check one in first, with Cooper Abbott and Quinn Wentzel close behind.

From there, Webb began to extend his lead and separate himself from the pack, finishing lap one 7 minutes ahead of Wentzel. In laps two and three, the biggest obstacle became the amateur lappers, which created challenges for the Pros to find lines through the field.

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In the final lap, Webb dropped into the canyon called Black Flag, which was an intense down and up that they had to complete before the final finish. With spectators cheering above on the cliffside, Webb climbed up this canyon in Webb-fashion, winning the Moab Hard Enduro in 2 hours and 33 minutes.

He said his arm-pump was the worst it’s ever been and how the traction was really tough to find out on course, but gave the course great reviews and was really happy with how it all ended up.

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The fight for the other two spots on the podium was the main focus now, as there was a chance that an athlete or two could have made it on the podium for their first time ever. Hard Enduro Outfitter Sherco’s Branden Petrie started out the race in the top-5, but pushed hard in lap two and three, battling Quinn Wentzel for the second position.

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After swapping positions several times, Petrie ended up passing Wentzel and made it up Black Flag in 2 hours and 49 minutes for second place. Wentzel held off Cooper Abbott and finished in third place one minute behind Petrie. Abbott finished in 4th, and IRC Tire Beta’s James Flynn finished in 5th.

This was Petrie and Wentzel’s first-ever USHE podium finishes, which was a significant achievement for these two athletes.

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In the Pro Women’s class, Louise Forsley elected to race last minute, and ended up winning her class ahead of Hallie Marks and Bailey Lerwill.

The top Amateur of the weekend was Riley Bender, followed by Braxton Hintze and Niko Piazza. This was a successful first US Hard Enduro race here at Area BFE, which saw a huge turnout of Amateur racers, many of which were trying hard enduro for the first time. The course had the right mixture of difficulty for all levels, and received great praises from nearly all of the racers. The next USHE round is the Battle of the Goats in Taylorsville, North Caroline on April 27-28.

Top 20 Results:

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Full results: http://www.moto-tally.com/USHE/Results.aspx

More information: www.ushardenduro.com

 

Words Credit: Matt Musgrove

Video Credit: Cody Webb

Photo Credit: Jenny Keller