Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Ryder LeBlond secured his second victory of the 2025 Bullet Proof Designs U.S. Hard Enduro Series, presented by IRC Tire, May 9-11, in West Virginia, May 10-11.
By Stephanie Vetterly
Despite some pre-weekend rain, the property dried quickly, and conditions for the River Monster Hard Enduro were perfect for race time. For the first five-hour race, the Amateur riders were challenged to two 16-mile laps. Right off the start line, riders were thrown into Puke Creek.
Coming in first overall was Geiner Cordero, taking the lead from the second checkpoint and never letting go. Cordero finished in just over three hours, coming in 18 minutes ahead of runner-up Gage Hill, who also had a solid lead over Tyler Labelle, who rounded out the overall podium. Youth riders Tucker Edmondson, Graham Kobak and Bentlee Bredekamp finished within 20 minutes of one another, and well within the overall top 10 of the Amateur riders.
Right off the start of Sunday’s Pro race, FactoryOne Sherco’s Will Riordan took the lead after the second corner. Riordan was able to lead the whole first lap, with LeBlond and Red Bull KTM FMF’s Trystan Hart hot on his heels; the pair was left to battle for position between one another until the start of the second lap, when Riordan’s failed attempt to take a shortcut over a log gave them an opening to overtake. The course was tight with few places to make a pass, so it was crucial to capitalize on a competitor’s mistakes. LeBlond was able to get out in front, with Riordan and Hart trading positions until a navigation error toward the final stretch left Hart with an opportunity to pull a few bikelengths ahead and secure second place. Riordan crossed the finish line 14 seconds after Hart to round out the podium.
With a weekend free and a race close to home, Flatrock Motorclub GasGas Factory Racing’s GNCC athlete Jordan Ashburn stopped by to throw his hat in the ring. Having experience in riding hard enduro, Ashburn was no slouch on the course, keeping within a minute behind the podium finishers the entire first lap. Starting lap two, the lead stretched to 10 minutes, and Ashburn finished only 18 minutes behind the podium trio for fourth overall, with Rocky Mountain Yamaha’s Cody Webb closing out the top five only two minutes later.
“I haven’t gone that fast since I used to race GNCCs back in the day,” said an excited LeBlond. “I don’t train to go fast like that anymore, and I could tell the first lap. There were a couple of hard sections left after [a rocky uphill called Trinity], but nothing where you were going to get stuck, so I was just going as fast as I could until the checkered flag. [Riordan and Hart] were close the whole time, and I was stressing. They were going back and forth, and it let me get a little bit of a gap going into the last hard section and the Endurocross section; that would’ve been chaos if we went into that together. I’m pumped to win this one.”
“It wasn’t the greatest day for me,” said Hart. “I never found a good flow, I feel like. Those guys definitely had this place figured out, it seemed. They knew where to go, and it seemed like they had it dialed in, and I never could get into a spot where I could even make a push for first. I was at best second, and most of the time I was third. I made a huge mistake at the finish, which cost us any chance of getting Ryder because we were so close. It was one of the easier courses that we’ve done for a while, but still a course that you have to go fast on and figure it out and adapt to different things. Second on the day and on to the toughest race next. We’ll see how that one goes.”
“The jump wasn’t good, but I ended up in the lead after the second corner, which is what I wanted to do,” said Riordan. “I knew that I had to sprint the first lap, which suits me. I don’t know how much I put on them, but a bit. It was kind of lonely the whole first lap. Then at the start of the second, I tried to take a shortcut over this one log, didn’t make it, got stuck, and Ryder got in front. Trystan was right behind, and then from there, for the last hour and 10 minutes, we were all right there. We got lucky with the weather. If it were wet, it would’ve been 100 times harder. Because the conditions were perfect, it was enjoyable and quick. Next race at RORR [May 24-25] is going to be the complete opposite, so I think this is fine.”
LeBlond’s win puts him in the points lead, but with riders afforded a drop round, LeBlond needs to secure a few more race wins to lock down the overall title.
2025 U.S. Hard Enduro Round 6 Results
OVERALL (Top 10)
- Ryder LeBlond (Hus)
- Trystan Hart (KTM)
- Will Riordan (She)
- Jordan Ashburn (GG)
- Cody Webb (Yam)
- Daniel Lewis (Bet)
- Braxton Hintze (She)
- Ryder Guest (KTM)
- Kawelo Huddy (KTM)
- Kamakana Waiwaiole-Kahalepuna (KTM)
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