Hattie Harnden wins wire-to-wire at Aletsch Arena

Nothing fazes Hattie Harnden. Not brand new venues, not weather delays, and not over the bar crashes.

Harnden won Sunday’s Round 5 of the Enduro World Cup in emphatic fashion, winning Stage 1 and never relinquishing the lead on a long, hot, high-altitude day at Aletsch Arena in Switzerland. She’d go on to win Stage 4 as well, giving her wins on the two longest stages of the day. She finished with a time of 41 minutes and 25 seconds, roughly 28 seconds ahead of second-place Ella Connolly and 30 seconds ahead of third-place Isabeau Courdurier.

With the win, Harnden strengthened her hold on second-place on the overall World Cup standings, and moved within 63 points of Courdurier in first place. If she can put together another big performance at the last round of the World Cup in Loudenvielle on September 6, Harnden could secure her first series overall title after taking third place the last two years.

Aletsch Arena had never been raced before on the World Cup circuit, but Harnden felt at home on the rocky, exposed terrain, having battled nearby venues like Zermatt and Crans-Montana. She set the tone for her day on Stage 1, winning by 24.7 seconds over Connolly and 52.1 seconds over Courdurier on the 5.74-kilometer track. 

After Stages 2 and 3, however, Harnden was worried that she had undone her impressive effort.

On a short and steep Stage 2, she put her front wheel on a rock and went over her handlebars, taking seventh and losing 19 seconds to Connolly. Then on Stage 3 she crashed again, losing her front wheel on what had felt like a strong run. She went back to the Trek Factory Racing pits after the stage for an update from team support manager Andy Lund, assuming that she had given up her lead.

“I really thought at that stage I was out of it. I even said to Andy, ‘Oof, I must be back in like fourth or something by now,'” Harnden said. “And he actually said that I was still leading. That was all I needed to know, really.”

Harnden indeed had a good Stage 3. Despite the crash, she took second on the stage, just 6.5 seconds behind Courdurier, and held a 6.5-second overall lead over Connolly. 

Before Stage 4, the heat kicked up on the course. Riders were gassed after a long liaison. That’s when Harnden shined. She has made a habit of doing her best riding on late stages, particularly when they’re long and pedal-y. And on the longest stage of the race, she slammed the door on the competition, winning by 20.1 seconds over Connolly.

As with her win in Finale Ligure to start the season, Harnden knew that if she rode smart on the final stage, the win was hers. She took second on Stage 5 by 8.5 seconds to Courdurier to safely secure the sixth elite Enduro World Series or World Cup win of her career.

“I don’t try to think about if I’m leading or not during the race. I just try and look at the stages and know which ones I can claw back some good time, and which ones I need to just not lose time,” Harnden said. “I think for some of the other women who perhaps aren’t quite as fit as me, they fade towards the end of long stages, whereas I can really attack all the way down.”

Sunday’s race was especially challenging due to the disrupted race timing. The race had been scheduled for Friday, but due to looming bad weather, the UCI pushed it back to Saturday, then again to Sunday when the forecast didn’t clear up.

Enduro racing requires intense focus. The ever-changing schedule preyed on Harnden’s rhythm. 

“I felt like I had come down off of the excitement, with two days just hanging out, being in the pit, just resting and watching GoPro,” Harnden said. “So I was really happy to be fast from the get-go on race day, because it’s quite hard to do when your brain has almost switched off.”

Good thing for Harnden that her equipment and support were as steady as ever. 

Harnden’s Gen 6 Slash is now a two-time World Cup race winner. And Lund kept it working in mint condition, just as he has throughout Harnden’s time with TFR.

“The bike was amazing,” Harnden said. “It really, really worked well on the terrain here, with the big exposed sections and the rough rocks. A couple of the stages were really, really exposed and raw.

“And even on the pedal-y sections, with Flight Attendant, you had the best of both worlds. It locks out and you don’t have any of the suspension moving on the pedal-y sections, but then when it’s rough, the bike is just like butter. So I’m glad I did it justice.”

Up next for Harnden: A lot of rest. She’ll have to wait nearly two months to settle her accounts with this year’s Enduro World Cup. In the meantime, she’ll race the British Downhill National Championship on July 20-21, and the first-ever British Enduro National Championship on August 17-18, taking place in Scotland.

Striking the right balance between recovery and maintaining fitness will be key to the end of Harnden’s season. Not only will she be racing a major World Cup finale in early September, she’ll also be taking on the first ever Enduro World Championship a week later in Val di Fassa.

“I always come back after a break pretty good,” Harnden said. “I’ve been training quite hard between these World Cups in this block just to make sure the fitness doesn’t go down. Otherwise, come the last World Cup and Worlds, you could really be putting yourself on the back leg by not having kept your fitness up all season.”

It may be a while before we get to see Harnden back on the World Cup stage, but the wait will be worth it. She showed Sunday that there may be no one better at rising to her circumstances. No matter what happens, she’ll be putting on a show. 

“I’m super excited right now,” Harnden said. “The overall has come right back together. Isa and I are super close. So it will make for quite the end to the season with us battling it out at the final World Cup.”