| May 29, 2024
Trystan Hart of FMF KTM Factory Racing won the second running of the Keystone Challenge in Pennsylvania, which consisted of two very difficult races over the three-day Memorial Day weekend. Even though Tough Like RORR (May 25-26) and the Locked & Loaded Hard Scramble (May 27) were only 30 minutes away from each other, both race events had very different terrain and were challenging for all skill levels.
Trystan Hart was the overall winner at the Tough Like RORR and Locked & Loaded Hard Enduro doubleheader in Pennsylvania. The overall winner is crowned Keystone Challenge Champion. Photography by Ryan McCasland / Calafia Concepts
By Matt Musgrove
The best of the moto-style scores between the two races determined the Keystone Challenge winner. This doubleheader weekend was rounds four and five of the Bulletproof Designs U.S. Hard Enduro Premier Championship and the second round of the AMA East Hard Enduro Series, presented by IRC Tire.
Cody Webb of FactoryOne Sherco won the first race at Tough Like RORR in one of the most impressive U.S. Hard Enduro (USHE) finishes to date. Tough Like RORR was celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, with the Reading Off-Road Riders raising their overall purse to $40,000. This race in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, has a reputation of being a genuine beatdown, with times often lasting over four hours with only a handful of racers making it to the finish line in the six-hour time limit.
After Trystan Hart’s incredible no-footpeg win last year, the Reading Off-Road Riders and course designer Rob Mohn wanted to step it up in difficulty, both for the amateurs and pros. The race started on Saturday with the first qualifier, where the nearly 300 racers lined up by class and went out for a medium-difficulty loop. Factory GasGas’ Will Riordan won this qualifier in 45 minutes, finishing over 30 seconds ahead of Hart and Webb. The first 120 racers that finished were qualified for Sunday’s main race, while the remaining did an LCQ in the afternoon. Over 100 amateurs then raced a separate 10-mile loop, fighting for 10 remaining spots available for the opportunity to race on Sunday.
Only one rider made it to the finish line at the Tough Like RORR race—Cody Webb. And it cost him a trip to the hospital. Photo by Jenny Keller
With 130 racers on the start with rows of 10 wide, the main-race format was going to be a shorter first lap followed by a longer and much more difficult second lap, with a cutoff time of six hours. Another factor of difficulty was Saturday night’s storm that soaked the course just enough to increase the technical challenges even more than previously planned. IRC Tire’s James Flynn got the holeshot in Sunday’s main race, and the racers started to make their way up the old strip mine, where hundreds of spectators were waiting for them. The front pack quickly split into two groups, with the front battle between Webb and Hart, followed by Factory Rockstar Husqvarna’s Ryder LeBlond, Logan Bolopue and Riordan fighting for the third position. This was the trend for the first couple of hours until Hart had a starter failure that set him back over 45 minutes behind Webb as he worked on repairs and finally fixed it.
Hart’s mechanical left Webb on his own in the backside of the property in a section called “Nightmare,” where he pushed through an insanely difficult course in humid conditions and hotter temperatures rising as the race went on. In the group that was following, Riordan pushed ahead and kept Bolopue and LeBlond behind him with a strong pace. The Australian has never finished on the podium at a USHE Premier Championship round, and he was hungrier than ever to prove he had it in him to do so.
Will Riordan was third in the Locked & Loaded race.
Hart pushed hard after fixing his bike, but was unable to catch up to a hard-charging Webb. In the end, Webb dropped into the new “Brain Damage” section. This is where Webb found his limit and was pushing beyond his physical abilities, taking much longer to get through than expected and barely made it out. Eventually, Webb made it to the finish line with minutes to spare before the six-hour cut-off time, but he collapsed to the ground after the checkered flag due to heat exhaustion. He ended up going to the hospital for two liters of IV drips, and was mostly recovered later that evening. Hart’s race ended at a checkpoint before the finish line, so he did not navigate the Brain Damage section, leaving Webb as the only finisher of Tough Like RORR and the winner of the $12,000 purse. His achievement gained him attention from around the world as one of the sport’s greats.
Riordan’s race ended at a checkpoint near the Nightmare section, putting him in third place for his first-ever podium position in USHE, with Bolopue and LeBlond finishing not too far behind him for fourth and fifth, respectively.
Locked & Loaded
On Monday after Tough Like RORR, racers lined up for the Locked & Loaded Hard Scramble, hosted by the High Mountain Dirt Riders. The format of this five-hour race consisted of a full lap around a 16-mile course, then two extra laps around the latter half of the main course, which featured the harder sections of the property.
The race kicked off in a large field, with each class getting a full row at the start. Team KRD’s Ryder Guest from Hawaii pulled the holeshot and was the first rider to enter the woods. Hart was the only pro to go down on the start, sliding out and entering the woods about 30 riders back. The first half of the course was a bit faster, with rocky trails and tight singletrack, but it was only going to be ridden once by everyone, making it a great way to spread the amateurs apart and give them a challenge. At the halfway point of lap one, Webb and Riordan entered the endurocross section close to each other, with a charging pack of pros close behind as they entered the tougher side of the property.
Rachel Gutish was the top Pro Women’s finisher.
Hart eventually caught up to the lead pack, picked his way to the front, and wouldn’t look back with a several-minute lead for the remainder of the race. Webb and Riordan were in a tight battle, swapping positions nearly a dozen times in the final two half laps, making it an exciting result. Around the midpoint of the race, the skies unleashed heavy rain, adding some difficulty to certain sections, but also cleaning off rocks in other sections making them easier to navigate. The rain eventually subsided and Hart kept his lead, winning the Locked & Loaded Hard Scramble in 4.5 hours. Webb pulled ahead of Riordan near the end of the final lap, securing the second position on the podium, with Riordan finishing in third. LeBlond finished in fourth, with Bolopue finishing in fifth. A notable effort was from Team KRD from Kauai, Hawaii, who favored the wet weather and slick conditions. Ryder Guest secured the sixth spot, Kamakana Waiwaiole-Kahalepuna finished seventh, and his teammate, Kawelo Huddy, finished in the eighth position; it was the first time the teammates finished in the top 10 together in a USHE Premier Championship.
Trystan Hart was the 2024 Keystone Challenge Champion.
The Keystone Challenge overall, as determined by points from each round and calculated using moto-style scoring, was Hart (2-1) and then Webb (1-2): The second race broke the tie, awarding Hart his second consecutive Keystone Challenge overall victory.
Rachel Gutish competed at both races as well, finishing first and winning overall in the Pro Women’s division. Riley Bender won both Amateur races and came away with the Keystone Challenge overall in the Amateur division, with Braxton Hintze and Jobel Coronado finishing in second and third, respectively.
The USHE Premier Championship has a couple of months off until the Donner Hard Enduro in California on August 10-11, followed by the Red Bull Tennessee Knockout on August 22-25.
Tough Like RORR
- Cody Webb (She)
- Trystan Hart (KTM)
- Will Riordan (GG)
- Logan Bolopue (She)
- Ryder LeBlond (Hus)
Locked & Loaded
- Trystan Hart (KTM)
- Cody Webb (She)
- Will Riordan (GG)
- Ryder LeBlond (Hus)
- Logan Bolopue (She)
