At the end of a brutal and exhausting 101-miles of northern Baja single-track, Ian Blythe came out on top at the Los Ancianos Tecate Enduro. Photography by Dirtfocus.com
The Los Ancianos MC definitely dealt out a challenging course for the 41st running of the club’s signature event, making the Tecate Enduro brutal in every sense of the word. But Mother Nature could not have been sweeter to the 286 racers who made the trek to Rancho Santa Veronica in Tecate, Mexico for what has been called “The best east coast enduro in the West.” Rain in the week prior to the event gave a thorough soaking to the parched Northern Baja terrain, making for “chocolate cake” dirt through over 100 miles of virgin single-track – and most importantly, no dust! The ideal conditions made for a very level playing field for riders on all rows, as evidenced by the final standings: Winner Ian Blythe (row 30), second place, Ivan Ramierz (row 5) and Brandon Prieto (row 51).
Red Bull KTM’s Ivan Ramirez collected second overall. Photography by Dirtfocus.com
Riders who came from as far as Washington, Utah and Texas lined up to take on the daunting three-loop course set up by the Los Ancianos. A flowing first loop put riders through the first two tests, followed by another pair of tests on the technical and challenging second loop. The third loop dished out some “Erzberg-like” sections to the exhausted racers, the majority of whom did not reach the checkered flag. Those who did faced a formidable final test that took most riders between 3 and 4 hours to complete.
“The second loop was tough, but the third loop really burned up a lot of people,” explained Scott Penwarden of the Los Ancianos MC. “We only had about 86 people finish. The caliber of rider at the Tecate Enduro, in general, is really high. Those guys that reached the finish are very good riders.”
Brandon Prieto rounded out the podium in third place. Photography by Dirtfocus.com
KTM-mounted Ian Blythe proved to be the best of the best, topping the Open class ahead of Red Bull KTM’s Ivan Ramirez and Mexican rider Brandon Prieto. Michael Berenbak took the Vet (30+) win, while Cory Pincock took the Senior (40+) class, and Grant Palanske bested the 50+ Super Senior class. Masters’ and Women’s class races each concluded at the end of the second loop, with Larry Kleinschmidt finishing first in the 60+ Masters division, and 3 Brothers Racing KTM’s Kelly Barbosa toughing it out for the Women’s win.
Larry Roeseler is always a familiar face at the Los Ancianos events. Photography by Dirtfocus.com
Overall Results – Top 10:
1. Ian Blythe
2. Ivan Ramierz
3. Brandon Prieto
4. Kale Elworthy
5. Joshua Knight
6. Brady Elton
7. Noah Kepple
8. Michael Berenbak (1st Vet)
9. Justin Morgan
10. Dustin Walcher
