Miller Wins Ohio Hard Enduro
Black Rock Showdown
R
ound two of the Ohio Hard
Enduro Championship Series,
presented by Lancaster Sport-
cycles, brought riders to Ches-
terhill, Ohio, April 25-26, for the
Black Rock Hard Enduro, where
course designer Jeff Husted
delivered exactly what hard en-
duro has quickly become known
for—tight, punishing terrain
blended with just enough flow to
keep racers guessing for the full
duration.
The roughly 10-mile circuit,
used by both amateur and pro
classes, with added splits for
the latter, was deceptively brutal.
Overnight rain, followed by inter
-
mittent showers during the day,
turned the already rock-littered
hillsides into a slick, unpredict-
able battlefield.
In the Pro/A ranks, the three-
hour, three-lap race quickly
boiled down to a relentless fight
among Champion Brick team-
mates Tobin Miller and Braxton
Hintze and Maverik Thaxton.
Early leader 3 Seas Recreation's
Mark Fortner set the tone, but by
mid-lap of lap one, the front-run
-
ning trio had pulled away—and
from there, it became a bar-to-
bar war.
Lead changes came con-
stantly. At nearly every major
obstacle, the order shuffled,
sometimes separated by just
mere seconds. Miller's strength
on the tight, twisting single-track
proved decisive, but it wasn't
enough to end the elastic battle
early. Thaxton clawed back time
in the rock gardens and techni
-
cal descents, while Hintze ap-
plied consistent pressure—until
small mistakes began to add up.
By the final lap, Miller knew
exactly where the race would be
won. The slick rock sections had
been a toss-up all day, but the
WIND
IN THE
P38
Tobin Miller was the overall
winner at the Ohio Hard Enduro
Championship in Chesterfield,
Ohio.
PHOTOS: STEPH VETTERLY
