Hart isn ’ t the only one that has upped his game . DRT Husqvarna ’ s Ryder LeBlond has had a great start to the year , coming to the RevLimiter off a win at the SEER Bootlegger Extreme enduro the weekend before . Taking the Lifted Trucks AZ holeshot award , LeBlond and Rockstar Energy Husqvarna ’ s Colton Haaker battled throughout the day , LeBlond with a 4-5-3 finish , and Haaker with a 3-3- 4 finish .
“ I ’ m really just trying to get situated so we can start battling for wins and I ’ m making progress , so third place was a good start ,” Haaker said . “ I rode really consistent and smooth , and the bike worked awesome , I was just a little off pace from first and second so just need to build on top of where I ’ m at . This is my first race where I felt like I did that so just going to keep moving forward with the same approach and keep chipping away at it . Thanks to the team and everybody , we ’ ll get them at the next one .”
The final race of the day pulled out all the stops , including all the top obstacles of the weekend such as “ Big Bertha ,” “ Mount Rushmore ,” “ Red Bull Rollercoaster ,” and a new section known only as “ The Hill ,” a loose , seemingly impossible ultra-steep grade climb just before the finish line . A full crowd of spectators cheered as rider after rider took their turn launching up The Hill ; some were able to navigate
VOL . 6 ISSUE 5 - MAY 2021 // PAGE 99