Four joint winners in 2015 Erzberg Rodeo!

Four riders were declared joint winners of the toughest one-day extreme enduro event on the planet, the Erzberg Rodeo, on June 7.

Some 500 starters lined up to contest the event and, of the five finishers, four were declared joint winners: KTM riders Jonny Walker and Andreas Lettenbichler and Husqvarna teammates Graham Jarvis and Alfredo Gomez. The quartet rode together up onto the winner’s (or now winners') arch and each took their turn in holding up the famed trophy—a piece of rock from the Iron Mountain.

Mario Roman (KTM) was the only other finisher who crossed the line just 32 seconds inside the four-hour time limit.
The genesis for the joint declaration occurred when all four lead riders were together when they reached a new section called “Downtown” an uphill slope that finally proved to be impossible to ride.

Jarvis was the first to get stuck and very soon the other three were backed up behind him. After close consultation, they decided to pool their resources and help each other up the hill, a process that took more than an hour.  By the time they got to the top, organizers had decided to remove one of the checkpoints near the end and the four riders opted to ride together to the finish.

Walker’s winning ride in 2014 was just under two hours. On Sunday, the four joint winners reached the finish in just a shade under four hours. Speaking after the race, Walker said: “I made a good start and early on I pushed really hard. I got a five-minute lead then I made a stupid mistake on one of the hills and I lost maybe 3-4 minutes.

"That allowed Graham (Jarvis) to catch me. I tried to push but I had a small crash and dented the radiator and it was letting water out. Graham and Gomez passed me, and then we all got stuck on this hill. We talked and decided to pull each other up and ride to the finish. It was by far the hardest Erzberg I have ever done.”

Andreas Lettenbichler agreed: “It was a really tough one. This is my 10th edition and today was the hardest. This one “Downtown’ section was impossible to ride and we had to help each other. Everyone was completely exhausted after this section and it was too dangerous to have a restart. It was an incredible race, difficult but I’m happy.”

Results Red Bull Hare Scramble Erzbergrodeo 2015
=1. Alfredo Gomez (ESP), Husqvarna, 3:58.25 h
=1. Jonny Walker (GBR), KTM, +0 sec
=1. Graham Jarvis (GBR), Husqvarna, +0
=1. Andreas Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, +0
5. Mario Roman Serrano (ESP), KTM +31 sec