Originally Posted by
fietsbob
No reason why You could not have used the same bolt that holds the rack on the fork to hold your Mudguard strut.
I considered that option as well. But it would have put the v-stays and the plastic safety release very close or in the way of the Ortlieb clip if I wanted to position it at the very rear of the rack. In practice it would have worked fine by just not putting the clip in that position, but I had already installed the rack with thread locker and this was a faster solution that also allowed full use of the whole rack rail.
Edit: Also allows for easier removal of the fender without removing the rack.