Bolt Wins Abestone Hard Enduro
B
illy Bolt (Husqvarna) claimed
the win at the first-ever
running of the Abestone Hard
Enduro in Italy, July 10-11, as the
2021 FIM Hard Enduro World
Championship officially gets
underway. Bolt led home Manuel
Lettenbichler (KTM) following a
race-long duel, while Graham
Jarvis (Husqvarna) cut his way
through the field for third.
The new Italian event promised
much with big mountain rid-
ing, rocky climbs and true hard
enduro terrain, and it delivered
on every count. After Saturday's
qualification, competitors got
down to the business end of the
weekend with the Liqui Moly
Super Final, where two laps of a
world-class hard enduro awaited
them.
Having topped both Friday's
timed practice and Saturday's
qualification, Bolt sat on pole po-
sition for Sunday and started as
the rider everyone had to beat.
However, with just a 12-second
cushion over closest rival Letten-
bichler, it was still all to play for.
With Bolt opening the course,
Lettenbichler patiently took his
time and then gave chase. Know-
ing the early river section would
be tough, he worked it hard and
immediately caught up to Bolt's
rear wheel. From there the fight
for victory was on. Throughout
the two laps the duo swapped
positions. Lettenbichler appeared
to have the edge on the rocky
climbs up the mountain, while
Bolt held the advantage on the
way down. Pulling the pin on
the final descents, Bolt put his
Husqvarna out front and held off
Lettenbichler to capture the win.
"It's awesome to pull off the
win—it's been a dream weekend
for me, to be honest," Bolt said.
"I came here wanting to show
IN
THE
WIND
P40
Husqvarna's Billy
Bolt dominated
the Abestone Hard
Enduro in Italy.
PHOTOS:
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