Manuel Lettenbichler started strong and won his fourth straight FIM Hard Enduro event at the Canadian Outliers. ” I managed to get up most of the hills without any problem and that helped me to conserve as much energy as possible. I bent my handlebars pretty good on one of the last uphills so that was a bit of a worry. Being the first to reach some of the sections was a bit of a disadvantage, because it was so slippery. Four wins in a row now, I’m speechless.” Photo: Mason Mashon / Red Bull Content Pool
Manuel Lettenbichler, the reigning Hare Enduro World Champion and winner of the first three championship events of the year won his fourth straight, the Red Bull Outliers Hard Enduro held in Canada. Team Husqvarna’s Billy Bolt took home second place, followed by local hero Trystan Hart and his Factory FMF KTM.
Billy Bolt: “I had a good start with Mani, and we rode together early on. I had a few mistakes throughout, but generally I was happy with my riding. On the final lap I had one big mistake that allowed Mario to close the gap to me, but I managed to recover and get some breathing room coming into the final big section. I got onto Mani’s wheel there but had pushed a bit hard and just didn’t have an answer to him at the end.” Photo: Tyler Ravelle / Red Bull Content Pool
Letti started off with a big win in the prologue which gave him the pole position start. Bolt and Letti jumped out in front of a dusty, and tenacious course. Behind them chaos ruled. Sherco’s Mario Roman got caught in a crash zone, moving up to third with Wade Young and Trystan Hart in the hunt. Roman kept the leaders in sight in the two and half-hour race, but could never reel them in. Mario’s teammate Wade Young hit the wall on after charging hard losing touch with the lead pack on lap two.
Trystan Hart: “Not the result I wanted to get here at my home race, but I have to be happy with a podium. The prologue didn’t go my way – I made a few too many mistakes there, and today was the same. I got caught up in the mayhem early on and was chasing the whole way after that and it really took everything out of me. It’s great to get onto the podium in front of all my home fans, I just wish it was a couple of steps higher.” Photo: Tyler Ravelle / Red Bull Content Pool
Trystan Hart had to fight hard through dusty conditions and viscous terrain using valuable energy in an attempt to catch the Mani/Bolt duo. The final hill climbs were titanic and played a big role in the finish. Bolt had some drama and gave Mani some gap, and allowed Mario Roman to pull in closer. Billy charged hard to the finish, got within striking distance of Mani but didn’t have enough to challenge. Letti won by 41-seconds over Bolt, Trystan Hart finished third, edging past Roman, who had a good lead on his teammate Wade Young.
Billy Bolt and Manuel Lettenbitchler were this close in the closing stages battling on the epic hills at the Red Bull Outliers. Photo: Tyler Ravelle / Red Bull Content Pool Breathing clear air off the start proved crucial. Photo: Tyler Ravelle / Red Bull Content Pool
Winners, Billy Bolt, Manuel Lettenbichler, and Trystan Hart at Red Bull Outliers Photo: Mason Mashon / Red Bull Content Pool
German Manuel Lettenbichler won his second Red Bull Erzbergrodeo in a row on Sunday, making him the seventh person in 27 editions of the race to become a multiple winner. The 25-year-old trailed Great Britain’s Billy Bolt for much of the race, before a decisive pass in the latter stages sealed victory with Canadian Trystan Hart third for the second successive year. Here is all you need to know:
Manuel Lettenbichler racing through the prologue course at Erzberg rodeo on 10th June, 2023 // Sam Strauss / Red Bull Content Pool
– Reigning FIM Hard Enduro world champion Lettenbichler overcame 500 competitors and a mountain referred to as the ‘Iron Giant’ to win Austria’s iconic race in two hours and 31 minutes. Once in the lead, Lettenbichler put on a masterclass to beat his closest challenger Bolt by 11 minutes. Of 500 starters, 16 managed to finish the course containing 27 checkpoints across varied terrain within the four-hour race time limit.
– Held in the Austrian mining town of Eisenerz and first launched in 1995, the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo is the most revered race in the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. It takes place around the gravity defying Erzberg mountain, a functioning mine producing more than three million tons of iron ore per year. At each edition of the race, a mix of professionals and amateurs take part.
– Lettenbichler paced himself early in the race, trailing eventual third-place finisher Hart before taking the lead. Soon after he conceded first to a hard-charging Bolt, who had crashed at the beginning of the race and was on a mission to try and win the famed event for the first time.
– After one hour and 17 minutes chasing Bolt, Lettenbichler snatched the lead back at checkpoint 22 of 27. From there he rode off into the distance to not only win the race for a second time, but also secure wins at the first two stops of the 2023 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship.
– Lettenbichler said: “I’m speechless that I had such a big gap at the end. I don’t really believe it. I had a really good start and then Billy caught and passed me, and I tried to stay with him, but I couldn’t. He pulled a gap, so I tried to save some energy. When I could see him again, I decided to push and I would say he was pretty tired. Then I just rode a really good line to pass him. This race is such a crazy motorbike festival and everyone in the world just comes and wants to do this challenge and finish this race. It’s super unique. It feels amazing to win a second time in a row.”
– Despite seeing victory dissipate before his eyes, Briton Bolt managed to record his best finish at Red Bull Erzbergrodeo, despite a litany of drama which only became apparent after the race.
– Bolt, 25, said: “That was my worst ever start and then the next 10 minutes was a blur, and I knew I needed to pass as many people as possible before the course got technical. I bent the front disc on my bike in the crash. I also dented my exhaust pretty badly. I’ve had a fair bit of drama, all self-induced. When Mani passed me, I thought I would struggle to keep up with him. I didn’t take it easy, I just made sure I could get home in second. But all things considered, I am very, very happy.”
– Hart, who has two podiums in three attempts, said: “Back-to-back podiums, lots of people would be happy but, to be honest, I’m not super happy. I put myself in a really good position, I was leading, which I didn’t really expect and then I just got tight and made a lot of mistakes in the first hour. To get the holeshot and then make a lot of mistakes like that is kind of heartbreaking. I was right where I needed to be with Billy and Mani, and then kind of threw it all away.”
– Red Bull Erzbergrodeo marked round two of the 2023 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, however, only a small portion were elite professionals chasing the title, the rest being amateurs. The prologue narrowed 1,300 entrants to 500 qualifiers for the start of Sunday’s main race, and the predictably brutal course was mastered by just 16 riders.
– The best placed local was Austrian Michael Walkner, cousin of 2018 Dakar Rally champion Matthias Walkner, who finished seventh. Compatriot Marcel Hirscher – a multiple times gold medallist at the Olympics and World Championships in Alpine Skiing made his second start. The skier turned motorcycle racer managed to make it to checkpoint 19, an improvement on 2022 when his race ended at checkpoint 17.
Participants at Erzberg rodeo on 11th June, 2023 // Sam Strauss / Red Bull Content Pool
– The FIM Hard Enduro World Championship now moves to Romania for Red Bull Romaniacs from July 25-29.
2023 Red Bull Erzbergrodeo finishers 1. Manuel Lettenbichler (Germany) 2:31:15 2. Billy Bolt (Great Britain) 2:42:15 3. Trystan Hart (Canada) 2:57:09 4. Jonny Walker (Great Britain) 2:59:30 5. Wade Young (South Africa) 3:04:21 6. Graham Jarvis (Great Britain) 3:13:55 7. Michael Walkner (Austria) 3:22:18 8. Alfredo Gomez (Spain) 3:24:30 9. Teodor Kabakchiev (Bulgaria) 3:25:00 10. Cody Webb (USA) 3:29:09 11. Matthew Green (South Africa) 3:31:45 12. Sonny Goggia (Italy) 3:49:21 13. Dominik Olszowy (Poland) 3:51:59 14. Jack Price (Great Britain) 3:52:08 15. Mitch Brightmore (Great Britain) 3:58:39 16. Will Hoare (Great Britain) 3:59:13
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