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P126 INTERVIEW I AMA ENDUROCROSS & U.S. HARD ENDURO CHAMPION TRYSTAN HART you saying that was a bigger deal than winning it the year before because you were up against those World Championship-level guys. Then you came back the following year and ended up win - ning with Billy Bolt and Mani Lettenbichler on the podium with you. So, describe how that progres- sion has felt for you. Really, 2020 TKO is pretty much what started it all. That was a really big deal because at that point, everyone in the world had come over and tried to beat Cody [Webb] and no one had beaten him. I think he's got six wins there. Jarvis, Jonny, everyone had come at that point and tried to beat him and no one was able to do it. Then I got on the fac - tory bike and I beat him. That was a massive deal for me because, like I said, no one had done it. I was the first guy to knock him off the TKO rock. From that point on, I've had a massive trajectory upwards and never looked back. You've had two thirds in a row now at Erzberg. Second at Romaniacs this year. It's kind of dif - ficult, for you to take on the World Championship rounds on tracks that are relatively new for you. Do you feel like Romania and these other cours - es, now that you've raced on them a couple of times, that maybe you can race with Mani, Billy and the other top riders? That's the question right now. It's super frus - trating for me. I go to Europe with bikes identical to what I race here, and I show up there, and it's just not the same. I'm not the same person. I just don't have the same confi- dence that I have when I'm over here. When we come to TKO, I think I make it look pret- ty easy, and I'm pretty relaxed, and I win. This year, I won pretty easily. I got a massive gap and just kind of chilled out till the finish. I go to Europe, and I honestly just can't repeat that yet. So definitely, the track plays a big part, plus the travel. Those guys all know those races so well because they've been doing them so many times. I'm not going to use that as an excuse, but I honestly can't figure that out yet. It's just a different feeling, and I just can't quite seem to break through. I feel like I'm right there, I've just got to punch through the ice and Hart and the factory KTM team appear to be a match made in heaven. "It's super frustrating for me. I go to Europe with bikes identical to what I race here, and I show up there, and it's just not the same. I'm not the same person."