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Roman Wins Hixpania FIM Hard Enduro Finale; Lettenbichler Wraps Up Title M ario Roman saved his best for last, claiming a hard- fought victory at the 2026 Hix- pania Hard Enduro in Aguilar de Campoo, Spain, October 23-25, the final round of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. The Spaniard started seventh to take his first Hixpania win since 2018, holding off newly crowned World Champion Manuel Lettenbichler in a thrilling battle. Riding a Husqvarna, Roman worked his way through the field and took the lead about 30 minutes into Sunday's grueling nine-lap Lost Road main event. From there, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing's Lettenbichler put relent- less pressure on him, and the two exchanged the lead several times. However, Roman found anoth- er gear over the final three laps, gradually pulling away to take the win by one minute. He finished in two hours, 11 minutes and 18.43 seconds, much to the delight of the home crowd. The Lost Road featured a spectacular cave start before sending approximately 70 riders onto a demanding course around the Caracol Peninsula. The race culminated with the infamous Hixpania Hill, which only the top 10 riders still on the lead lap were allowed to tackle. Roman's victory was somewhat unexpected given his earlier re- sults in the weekend. He finished eighth in Friday's SuperEncierro and seventh in Saturday's Cam- poo Xtreme before turning things around when it mattered most. Lettenbichler settled for second, while Billy Bolt completed the po- dium, five minutes and 26 seconds behind Roman. Mitch Brightmore finished fourth, followed by James Moore and Ashton Brightmore. Bolt had been the rider to beat during the opening two days of competition. Friday's SuperEncierro featured a series of short, intense races through Hixpania Village, culmi- nating in a 14-rider final. Bolt won with a time of 7:15.10, finishing 5.56 seconds ahead of Ashton Brightmore. Teodor Kabakchiev took third, followed by Mitch Brightmore and Lettenbichler. Saturday's Campoo Xtreme moved the action to a 3.7-mile cir- cuit alongside the reservoir, where riders faced one hour of racing plus a lap. Bolt and Lettenbichler battled throughout the eight-lap race, with the German setting the fastest lap on his final circuit in an attempt to steal the victory. Bolt, however, held him off to take the win by just 3.5 seconds. Ashton Brightmore rounded out the podium, only 9.7 seconds behind Bolt, making it an excep- tionally close race among the top three. Mitch Brightmore was also in the hunt before a reported me- chanical issue dropped him out of podium contention. He eventu- WIND IN THE P60 Mario Roman (center) won the Hixpania FIM Hard Enduro Finale, with Manuel Lettenbichler (left) and Billy Bolt (right) taking second and third, respectively. PHOTOS: FUTURE7MEDIA