2021 Abestone Hard Enduro Results

Cycle News Staff | July 13, 2021

Bolt Wins Abestone Hard Enduro

2021 Abestone Hard Enduro Results — **Husqvarna’s Billy Bolt dominated the Abestone Hard Enduro in Italy.**

Photos by Future7Media

Billy 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 riding, 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 position for Sunday and started as the rider everyone had to beat. However, with just a 12-second cushion over closest rival Lettenbichler, it was still all to play for.

With Bolt opening the course, Lettenbichler patiently took his time and then gave chase. Knowing 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 that my pace at Extreme XL Lagares was no fluke and that I’m ready for the riverbeds and climbs and I got to show that.

“The race itself was a bit of a blur, it was proper intense. I messed the early river section up and Mani got on my wheel, and we just battled from there. He had me in the Minestrone Rock Garden, but I felt strong in the woods. On the final lap I just went for the pass, made it stick and hung it out for the win!”

“I’m a little bummed not to have won,” Lettenbichler said, “but second is definitely a great start to the season and the pace we had over the rest of the field was very strong. I can’t complain with my riding. I gave it everything and it was a good fight with Billy. I caught him early in the river and we rode back and forth together for most of the race. It came down to the wire, but just didn’t go my way. But it’s good to know where my pace is at now and with what we showed today, there’s going to be a lot more tight battles to come.”

Behind the leading duo—over 13 minutes behind—Jarvis was another man on a mission. Hampered by a starting position of ninth, he had work to do. Building pace as the race progressed, he began to pull back positions. A gamble not to refuel at the end of lap one leapfrogged him further up the running order. And with a strong run over the mountain, the 46-year-old legend took third.

“My qualification wasn’t too good with ninth, so I had a good bit of traffic in front of me most of the way through. I rode too tense on the first lap and struggled to find a decent rhythm—especially with those early riverbed sections. Gradually I got the speed up and lap two was much better. We gambled on not refueling, and it worked out in our favor. I think my speed and fitness was there to get up with the top two, but the early issues didn’t make it possible. But I’m looking forward now for Red Bull Romaniacs.”

Putting in a strong showing throughout the two laps, Jonny Walker (Beta) just didn’t have an answer for Jarvis in the closing stages and had to be content with fourth. Shadowing Jarvis off the line, Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) kept close to his teammate during the opening lap. But with Jarvis finding another gear on lap two, the Spaniard wasn’t able to go with him, ending his race fifth.

The FIM Hard Enduro World Championship continues with round four at Red Bull Romaniacs in Romania on July 27-31.