| May 9, 2023
Rockstar Husqvarna’s Ryder LeBlond claimed his first career USHE victory at the Fallen Timbers Hard Enduro at Wildwood Lake Raceway in Little Hocking, Ohio, May 6-7. RPM KTM’s Will Riordan was second and LeBlond’s teammate Colton Haaker third.
Ryder LeBlond was the overall winner at the Fallen Timbers Hard Enduro in Ohio.
By Matt Musgrove | Photos by Adam Sheehan
The Fallen Timbers Hard Enduro had record rider attendance and a well-timed storm over the weekend. The race was the second round of the AMA East Hard Enduro Series, Presented by IRC Tire.
On Saturday, there were two 6.5-mile qualifying races that set the rows for Sunday’s main event. The first qualifier was for most of the amateur classes, and the second qualifier was for the Pro and Expert classes. In the amateur qualifier, Braden Hashman won in the B class. In the Pro/Expert qualifier, Beta USA’s Danny Lewis led most of the race, but Riordan and LeBlond passed him on the second lap, with Riordan finishing 13 seconds ahead of LeBlond.
Will Riordan took a well-deserved second place.
Sunday’s main race consisted of a four-lap race around a 10.5-mile loop, with multiple checkpoints and more technical sections throughout. The tough became tougher Sunday morning, when the skies opened and started raining hard. The Wildwood Lake Raceway is infamous for its muddy conditions, as the dirt here becomes extremely slick. Lewis took the holeshot in the first row and led the pack until the first checkpoint at Brent’s Diner, a gnarly boulder stretch that held up racers throughout the day. Riordan and LeBlond passed Lewis and pulled away from the pack.
LeBlond and Riordan went back and forth for about a lap, but LeBlond extended his lead and remained up there for the rest of the race. Haaker was riding strong and, at one point, pushed into the second slot, but Riordan passed him back and pulled away, getting within five minutes of LeBlond.
The rain continued for about half of the race, but it eventually cleared up. However, the conditions got even worse as the mud got thicker and stickier. The ruts also got deeper, and the sidehills got tougher every lap. Traction was essentially non-existent.
There was a battle in the top five involving Lewis, Quinn Wentzel and James Flynn. Lewis was sitting comfortably in the fourth spot until he fell and got stuck underneath his bike. By the time he got moving again, he had lost some time to Wentzel and Flynn and they eventually caught and passed him.
The lappers were a tough obstacle in the mud, as there were nearly 150 racers scattered throughout the course. LeBlond rode a smooth race and maintained his gap over Riordan. He came through the finish in four hours and 52 minutes, winning the USHE Pro class for the first time. Riordan came in second another five minutes back, taking his sixth top-five of the season.
LeBlond and Riordan were the only two racers to finish the four laps within the time limit, leaving everyone else to be scored based on their lap and checkpoint finishes. Haaker finished in third place, and Wentzel and Flynn had season-best finishes in fourth and fifth, respectively.
OVERALL
- Ryder LeBlond (Hus)
- Will Riordan (KTM)
- Colton Haaker (Hus)
- Quinn Wentzel (Rej)
- James Flynn (GG)
- Daniel Lewis (Bet)
- Logan Bolopue (She)
- Branden Petrie (She)
- Gauge Logan-Key (GG)
- Nick Fahringer (She)
