Guest
Manuel Lettenbichler wins Red Bull Erzbergrodeo, follows in father’s footsteps. Manuel Lettenbichler claims his first Red Bull Erzbergrodeo title seven years after his father Andreas achieved the same feat. The duo are now the only father/son combo to have won the revered Austrian hard enduro race. Manuel Lettenbichler of Germany has beaten 1,200 competitors and a mountain called the Iron Giant to triumph at the 26th edition of Austria’s iconic Red Bull Erzbergrodeo. Of the 500 riders who qualified for Sunday’s main event, just eight mastered the course within the four-hour time limit, with Lettenbichler leading the whole way. In second place was Spanish rider Mario Roman, with Canada’s Trystan Hart third. Held in the Austrian mining town of Eisenerz and first launched in 1995, the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo is a holy grail for hard enduro riders and takes place around the gravity-defying Erzberg mountain, a functioning mine producing more than two million tons of iron ore per year. The Iron Giant is also the world’s largest human-made pyramid, creating an unrivalled challenge in offroad motorsport. After a three-year wait since the last edition in 2019, thousands of riders – a mix of amateurs and professionals – made the pilgrimage back to the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo to try and master the race, which is the centerpiece of a four-day hard enduro festival that draws tens of thousands of fans. In one of the toughest editions ever, Mani battled against the mountain and runner up Roman for two hours, 58 minutes, the only rider to finish under three-hours. Riders had a total of four-hours to complete the course, made up of 27 arduous checkpoints. Lettenbichler described the “unbelievable” feeling he had at checkpoint 26 out of 27, knowing that victory was his. The hard luck story of the day was five-time Red Bull Erzbergrodeo winner Graham Jarvis (GBR), who encountered mechanical problems that saw him stranded on the start line for an hour. Despite the 47-year-old veteran making his way through 21 of the 27 checkpoints in the time he had left, he was unable to finish within the time limit. The FIM Hard Enduro World Championship now moves to Italy for Red Bull Abestone from July 9-10. 2022 Red Bull Erzbergrodeo finishers: Lettenbichler (GER) – 2:58:51 2. Mario Roman (ESP) – 3:02:17 3. Trystan Hart (CAN) – 3:11:53 4. Billy Bolt (GBR) – 3:18:25 5. Alfredo Gomez (ESP) – 3:20:30 6. Michael Walkner (AUT) – 3:40:32 7. Wade Young (ZAF) – 3:55:13 8. Matthew Green (ZAF) – 3:55:54 Thumbnail: Red Bull Content Pool / Philip Platzer Enjoy the video & thank you for watching 📺 ✔ Subscribe, make enduro GROW ✔ Instagram ✔ Facebook #erzbergrodeo #hardenduro #dirtbike
