Results from Hard Enduro World Championship round one, the Valleys Hard Enduro in Wales where red Bull KTM’s Mani Lettenbichler has set the pace on the day one’s prologue timed runs ahead of Teo Kabakchiev and Jonny Walker.

Valleys Hard Enduro prologue in a nutshell:

• The talk of the town at this opening race of the weekend of the HEWC calendar is the glorious weather. Uncharacteristic for Wales some say but the truth is it can be like this just as much as it can be completely the opposite.
• Happily it is dry and that means dust was certainly a feature of last night’s Super Enduro shootout races which whittled down to a final which Mani Lettenbichler duly won ahead of Jonny Walker.

• Day one proper (last night was just for prize money) saw riders facing two runs on a shortened and easier version of the main race course they will ride tomorrow.
• The aim? To clock their best time to establish start order and whittle away the top 100 to separate the entry for AM and PM races tomorrow – PM races are the top 100.
• A mixed prologue course wasn’t like some other events and served a mini version of the main race and had riders working hard – many complaining of arm pump of the choppy at times terrain which also featured some long rock sections.
• That’s the groundwork laid down and the rest is probably predictable with reigning champion Mani Lettenbichler fastest, some 20 seconds ahead of Sherco’s new recruit Teo Kabakchiev and Beta’s Jonny Walker a further four seconds back (predictable because Mani makes it look so easy and looks comfortable in his boots for the win this weekend).
• Teo Kabakchiev looked good on his new Sherco mount for second, the transition to the new bike for the Bulgarian looks like on that suits him and he will look to repeat the podium results today.
• Note: Walker’s third place is not for HEWC points, like Graham Jarvis and a few others, he’s not signed up for the whole season and is just racing this UK round, Erzberg and possibly Romaniacs (FYI JW22 fans).

• Best of the Junior World Championship riders was easily Ashton Brightmore in fourth overall, beating his teammate and brother Mitch (now in championship class) in the process. Burts Crayston was P2 just ahead of James Moore in the Juniors.
• Tomorrow sees the riders pitched against a pretty challenging course in this 4000 acre, largely wooded venue (possibly not as hard as the Valleys Extreme at the same venue in actual fact) with three laps set as the goal for the main PM race.
• In these conditions it could be a fast one, so not the preferred long and hard race many think befits the Hard Enduro World Championship. More of a sprint race for these guys you might say.

Valleys Hard Enduro 2024 Prologue results:

Photo credit: Future7Media | Andrea Belluschi