2022 Tough Like RORR Results

| July 6, 2022

Tough Like RORR maintained its status as one of the toughest hard enduro races in North America, having only four athletes finish the two-lap main event in the 5.5-hour time limit. The penultimate round of the AMA IRC US Hard Enduro Series, presented by Inside Enduro, attracted nearly 300 hard enduro athletes from across North America.

Trystan Hart at 2022 Tough Like RORR AMA Hard Enduro — **Trystan Hart dominated the Tough Like RORR AMA Hard Enduro in Pennsylvania.**

Story and Photos by Matt Musgrove

The Reading Off-Road Riders spent nearly a year preparing for this race in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, cutting new trails and marking out sections that were difficult to walk on foot. In addition to the endless rock gardens, steep hills and technical trails, racers had to battle the intense East Coast heat and humidity. The first day consisted of prologues for amateurs and pros, which qualified a limited number to Sunday’s final races.

FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Trystan Hart continued his USHE dominance and momentum from a third-place finish at the Erzbergrodeo, winning the final event with a 40-minute lead over Delullo Racing Team’s Ryder LeBlond. Hart and LeBlond battled neck and neck during the first lap of the main, starting the second lap ten seconds apart. On the second lap, the most difficult sections were opened up, and that is where the two leaders were beginning to separate. Hart kept his momentum through these new sections, and even after a couple scary crashes, he pulled ahead of the field to finish at 3 hours and 21 minutes. The heat got to LeBlond and he struggled to maintain his pressure on Hart, but still pushed through for a strong second-place finish. Behind him, 13x National Trials Champion Pat Smage of FactoryOne Sherco was gaining ground, keeping a good pace through the harder sections thanks to his technical skills in the rocks. Smage finished 19 minutes behind LeBlond. Another FactoryOne Sherco rider, Keith Curtis, was the only other athlete to finish both laps in the time limit, coming into the finish 21 minutes behind his teammate. To round out the top five, David Knight rode strong all race and made it the furthest among those who didn’t reach the finish line.

**Ryder LeBlond kept the pressure on Hart for much of the race. He went on to finish second.**

In the Pro Women’s class, Tough Like RORR was the first 2022 USHE to host former off-road Champions Shelby Turner, Morgan Tanke and Louise Forsley. Shelby Turner showed her speed in the rocks, winning the qualifier on Saturday and the Pro Women’s final on Sunday morning with a five-minute lead. FactoryOne Sherco’s Louise Forsley has been out with a wrist injury for two months, but came back strong for a solid second-place finish on Sunday. The 2022 AMA West Extreme Off-Road Champion and Beta USA athlete Morgan Tanke finished third on the day, maintaining her points lead for the overall USHE Championship.

**MotoTrials Champion Pat Smage got on the podium in third.**

The final round of the USHE is the Locked & Loaded Shotgun Enduro on July 16-17, taking place at a 4000-acre property in Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania.