Hattie Harnden is gunning for the final EWS podium, and Pedro Burns is on the comeback trail
We’d been looking forward to the start of the 2022 Enduro World Series for the better part of a year, and the season opener in Tweed Valley did not disappoint. Hattie Harnden picked up where she left off last season, finishing fourth after taking second on the Scottish course to close 2021.
Meanwhile, Pedro Burns raced for the first time in nearly a year after suffering a broken ankle last June. And though he was aiming much higher than a 63rd-place finish, he was able to get his legs used to the paces of a full EWS race again.
Hattie Harnden riding so fast her braid can't keep up.
Pedro Burns back in action, man we love to see it.
Unlike last September, the weather in Scotland was pristine. The conditions were fast and dry, which meant that even small mistakes could send riders tumbling down the standings. Harnden had been targeting Tweed Valley since last year, when she was just 0.32 seconds away from taking her third EWS event win of the season.
And though she couldn’t quite match her previous finish (she was beaten by two fellow Brits and a former EWS overall winner, so no shame there), she laid down a consistent string of stage finishes, taking third twice, and no lower than seventh.
Most importantly, Harnden put herself in a strong position to accomplish her biggest goal of the season: Finishing on the EWS overall podium. Last year, she was just 20 points behind third-place Isabeau Courdurier, who also finished just ahead of her in Tweed Valley. The first- and second-place overall riders in 2021, Melanie Pugin and Morgan Charre, finished 15th and seventh, respectively, on Sunday. The battle atop the women’s standings is going to be fiercer than ever this year, and Harnden has placed herself right in the thick of it.
This man tends to draw a crowd.
So does Hattie, especially in the Tweed Valley.
Burns’ goal is to prove he can be a top 20 EWS rider again. Tweed Valley showed he still has a ways to go on his rehabbed ankle, but he may be the most upbeat rider in enduro. He’ll have two weeks to rest up ahead of EWS Round 2 in Petzen Jamnica later this month, and plenty more chances to show off his full potential with seven races left on the calendar.
In enduro, every race and every season is a journey. So far, 2022 is shaping up to be an absolute epic.
