Extreme-Enduro expert Grahan Jarvis showed he was in his element when it comes to soaking wet terrain and slippery descents as the Briton ended Sunday’s stage of the Red Bull Romaniacs 40 minutes clear of New Zealand's Chris Birch to establish a decent cushion for himself at the top of the table.
“That was a really tough day at the office, but I’m actually used to conditions like that. I found a good rhythm from the start and had a good time with the GPS,” said Jarvis (pictured below), who found himself one of the few Englishmen with something to celebrate at the end the day. “I’m pretty satisfied with my race today – I just don’t like the fact that our soccer team had to call it quits at the World Cup!”
“This stage was maybe the toughest one I’ve ever ridden,” said Red Bull rider Birch. “I’m happy to have reached the finish only 40 minutes after Graham. He was riding in his own class today – my full respect goes out to him!”
“Never ever give up,” said last year’s winner of Red Bull Romaniacs Andreas Lettenbichler as the German finally crossed the finish line in third place, more than two hours behind Jarvis.
'This stage was maybe the toughest one I’ve ever ridden' – Chris Birch
But only a third of the Pro-Class riders survived the first day’s excursion into the wilds of Romania’s Carpathian mountains and reach the finish line within the time limit as heavy rain and more than 400 bikes turned the course into a quagmire.
The biggest casualty of the day was one of the early favourites for the 6th edition of the world’s toughest Hard Enduro, Taddy Blazusiak.
The Polish rider, fresh from his fourth consecutive win at the Erzberg Rodeo, had to drop out of the race early: “First I lost my way in the early part of the stage. Soon after I got back on track and was chasing hard after the leader when I lost my front wheel and crashed hard at a gnarly downhill, injuring my shoulder once again.
“In the end, the pain was just too much to finish the stage, and I have to abandon my first Red Bull Romaniacs,” said a disappointed Blazusiak after returning wearily to the paddock in Sibiu.
You can track all the riders as they head deeper and deeper into the Carpathian mountains at redbullromaniacs.com and keep up with the action on Red Bull Web TV's Let There Be Wheels season.
© Pedrag Vuckovic/Red Bull Photofiles
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