At the first KLIM Junior Camp in Zlatibor, Serbia, leading into Round One of the FIM Hard Enduro Junior World Championship supported by KLIM, long-time KLIM athlete and renowned Hard Enduro veteran Paul Bolton stepped up to tutor Junior class competitors and help prepare competitors of the FIM Hard Enduro Junior World Championship supported by KLIM for the start of the new season.

“The KLIM Junior Camp went really well,” Bolton said Monday. “They really enjoyed all the information I could give them.” 

The point of the camp, he said, was getting the FIM Hard Enduro Junior World Championship competitors up to speed, starting with virtual classroom meetings before on-the-bike training leading up to the race with Bolton passing on tips and tricks about what they need to progress into the future.

“They took a lot more than they expected from the Skype calls before,” he added. “My goal was not to change too many things when we arrived and them not to be shocked at anything, because obviously they were just a few days away from starting a big race.”

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Ahead of the AMA US Hard Enduro in Tamaua, Pennsylvania on May 28, KLIM athlete and US Hard Enduro Media Specialist, Max Gerston, hosted an off-road clinic in Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania on May 20 for novice and above-average riding levels. 

“The clinic was excellent,” Gerston said Monday. “We had 12 riders, four of which were women, and everybody made massive improvements and had fun. My main goal as a coach is to teach people techniques to develop proper fundamentals so they have a lifetime of improvement after a Max Off-Road class.”

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In other news, Team Polaris and KLIM’s Backcountry Team athlete, Matt Entz from Mountain Skillz, showed up to the 2023 Naturita Hare Scramble in Naturita, Colorado, on May 21, his first dirt bike race of the season, and finished third in the +40 A class, less than 10 seconds behind second place and 13th overall. 

“The WEBE Race at Naturita was a lot of fun,” the multi-sport, crossover athlete said Monday. “First time for me to race that event and first race of the season for me.”

On Saturday, Entz and teammate, Zachary Hatton, finished third in the team race. 

“Conditions were very dusty initially but a hard rain came in about halfway through the second lap,” Entz said, adding that wearing his Mojave gear and trusty Stow Away Jacket during the race – his favorite non-snow piece of gear. “This made the course very slimy and slick, super fun! The rain didn’t last long and by the final lap conditions were about perfect.”

On Sunday for the individual race wearing his favorite XC Lite gear, F3 Carbon and Viper Pro Off-Road Goggle, Entz started fifth and worked his way up to third, finishing five laps in 2:01:58.  

“I felt better and better as the race went on,” he added. “With a few passes on the final lap of the two-hour race. The course dried out by then and was dusty again. I had a terrible start (dead engine) and was in last going into the first corner. I took a creative line over a large rock to make a few passes and settled into a pace. I expected most of the guys to be faster than me in a sprint, but figured the longer the race went on that my fitness would be in my favor.” 

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Up next: 

AMA US Hard Enduro - East Round 3 & 4 (Keystone Challenge) - Tamaqua, Penn., May 27-29 

AMA West Hare Scrambles - Round 4 - Heppner, Ore., June 4

FIM Hard Enduro World Championship - Round 2 - Austria’s Red Bull Erzbergrodeo, June 8-11

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Have a race report we missed? Email us at racers@klim.com! 

Ride hard, ride often, ride KLIM. #KLIMLife