Last weekend saw the 2023 Australian Hard Enduro champion, Ruben Chadwick and Ebony Nielsen head to Wattle Flat, NSW for RD 2 of the 2024 Australian Hard Enduro Championship.
Located just north of Bathurst, the ‘Goldfields Extreme’ round of the AHEC saw plenty of wet weather adding to the already treacherous track conditions.
The prologue on Saturday saw riders compete across 4 laps in a 45 minute cross country format that featured loose rocky hill climbs, steep hills and man-made enduro cross obstacles for riders to overcome. Plagued with wet weather that made conditions even tougher, Ruben pushed hard after a slower start and managed to work his way back to the front of the pack, finishing the prologue in 2nd place in the Gold class, just over a minute behind winner Anthony Solar.
In the Silver class, Nielsen struggled with the amount of traffic on the track in the first lap, but made up some great time in her fast lap, however due to a bent rear brake lever sustained in the enduro cross section, she was unable to use the rear brake for the 3rd lap, costing her valuable time.
The weather cleared up on Sunday for the main event where riders competed in a four-hour race with a mix of technical terrains that included; loose rocky switch back hill climbs, slippery hill climbs and rocky creek gulleys that put the Gold class riders to the test. Racing was tight amongst the top riders, with Chadwick alternating between 1st and 2nd place throughout the race, while Chadwick’s stamina and continuous pressure gave him a clear shot at the lead which he held right through to the checkered flag. Ruben ended the day in 1st place with a solid 7 minute lead and 1st place overall for the weekend.
Nielsen, competing in the mixed Silver class saw her come up against plenty of traffic in the first lap. Finishing the lap with plenty of time to spare, Nielsen went out on another lap and was much quicker with the track open and clear of traffic. Nielsen finished the race in 19th position in her mixed class.
“It’s great to come away with the win after a competitive weekend of racing in tough conditions. The RR 300 Racing performed flawlessly and I’m excited to continue the momentum for the remainder of the season,” Chadwick said.
Ruben now heads to the infamous Erzberg Rodeo in Austria to compete amongst the world’s best, before returning to the Australian Hard Enduro Championship for RD 3 on 29/30 June. Ebony heads back to the track on 18/19 May for RD 5 & 6 of the Australian Off Road
