hour faster. Even so, Webb re-
mained close deep into the race,
while LeBlond recovered from a
difficult opening lap and Petrie
stayed with the lead group until
nutrition problems and cramping
began taking their toll.
Webb's day also included
mechanical drama. His jetting
was off, and the Yamaha ran hot
enough that he stopped to add
coolant, costing valuable time.
Still, he kept Hart within striking
distance through the decisive
final sections.
Hart eventually finished in
3:40:47, 5:33 ahead of Webb.
LeBlond followed in third at
3:48:19, with Petrie fourth and
Bullet Proof Designs' Kawelo
Huddy fifth. More importantly,
the victory clinched the AMA
National Hard Enduro Champi
-
onship for Hart one round early.
"It's a gnarly race, for sure,"
Hart said. "Top five hardest in
the world."
LeBlond rebounded strongly
on lap two after struggling with
blown-out lines and fatigue
early.
"First lap, I was always the
fourth one into sections, and it
just got so blown out," LeBlond
said. "I rode really good the sec
-
ond lap; I had such a big gap to
close. I hit a wall there like half-
way through the first lap. Second
lap, I felt good and would kind of
catch Cody, but that last hill is
so gnarly and they were using a
rope to bring everyone up. They
drug Cody up and then by the
time I got up, I was two minutes
back and it wasn't really much
to the finish. Overall, happy with
how I rode. I stuck with it and
didn't just give in."
Stephanie Vetterly
OVERALL (Top 10)
1. Trystan Hart (KTM) 3:40:47 (Chk 12)
2. Cody Webb (Yam) 3:46:20
3. Ryder LeBlond (Hus) 3:48:19
4. Branden Petrie (Bet) 3:52:30
5. Kawelo Huddy (KTM) 4:10:58
6. Ryder Guest (KTM) 4:16:24
7. James Flynn (Bet) 5:12:32
8. Kamakana Waiwaiole-Kahalepuna
(KTM) 3:22:08 (Chk 11)
9. Braxton Hintze (KTM) 3:33:03
10. Matthew Stevens (KTM) 3:35:16
Makana Barger was the top amateur.
WIND
IN THE
P38
