Mountain. After making a strong
start and leading to the first
two checkpoints, Lettenbichler
soon found himself in a four-way
battle for the lead.
Times were incredibly tight
early on, with just seconds
separating the riders. As the
race climbed out of the forest
area and the terrain became
tougher, the gaps started to
widen, with Lettenbichler coming
into his own on the steep, rocky
slopes of the mountain. Break
-
ing away from his chasing rivals,
the defending World Champion
rode clear to ultimately cross
the finish line 13 minutes clear
of his nearest rival. Marking his
first-ever Sea To Sky win, he also
secured his fifth FIM HEWC vic
-
tory of the season.
Husqvarna's Graham Jar-
vis was second, followed by
Sherco's Mario Roman, Bolt and
Sherco rider Francesc Moret.
"That was a tough one, there's
no doubt about it," Lettenbichler
said after the final day. "Nearly
five hours of racing was so, so
long. This morning, I didn't even
know if I would be able to ride
after hurting my wrist yesterday.
I was definitely worried, and go
-
ing into the race I just wanted to
ride as safely as I could—trying
to save energy, trying to save my
body. I think it paid off, because
today's race was seriously hard.
When we got to the canyon,
there were four of us fighting to
get ahead, and it was so hot in
there. I managed to get out and
get ahead, and from there, I just
focused on staying smooth and
preserving myself and my bike."
Lettenbichler's win takes him
even closer to securing the 2024
FIM Hard Enduro World Cham
-
pionship title. With one round
left to race—the Hixpania Hard
Enduro in Spain, held October 25-
27—the Red Bull KTM star holds
a 17-point advantage at the top
of the series standings.
CN
OVERALL (Top 5)
1. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM)
4:43:22.26
2. Graham Jarvis (Hus) 4:56:39 +13:17
3. Mario Roman (She) 4:57:17 +13:55
4. Billy Bolt (Hus) 5:07:20 +23:58
5. Francesc Moret (She) 5:10:46
+27:24
VOLUME ISSUE OCTOBER , P55
Graham Jarvis
(left) and Mario
Roman (right) joined
Lettenbichler on
the podium.
