Login | Password dimenticata? | Registrati

Red Bull Romaniacs: Riders play cat and mouse with prologue

In Enduro

18 agosto 2009

Top riders in the Pro Class of the sixth edition of the Red Bull Romaniacs held their cards close to their chests on Saturday as they jockeyed for their choice of starting positions in the prologue of the race that is billed as the world's toughest hard Enduro Rally.
The prologue was held in downtown Sibiu in front of a large crowd of around 9,000 enthusiasts and in the final shakeout it was Spanish KTM rider Xavier Galindo who finished first ahead of last year's winner Graham Jarvis and Gerhard Forster. In what is essentially a display of tactics rather than a competition to see who is the fastest, KTM's Cyril Despres was more than happy with his sixth place finish. In such a race that is heavily dependent on navigation, professional riders like Despres, a winner of the notorious Dakar Rally and one of the most experienced rally riders on the planet, plan their attack accordingly.

Rain held off for Saturday's prologue in Sibiu, Transylvania in the very heart of Romania and the weather is expected to stay fine for the first day of the competition on Sunday. But heavy rain in recent days is expected to have created even more challenges for the riders tackling an unbelievable range of obstacles and where navigation skills will play a major part in shaping the end result. The prologue winner Galindo underlined this when he said at the conclusion of the prologue: ""Having those two experienced riders behind me is not a perfect scenario, but I'll try my best to keep them off my back".

The opening day starts at 6.00 a.m. on Sunday morning and will take riders over around 200km of tough, mountainous and forested territory in a race that offers some of the most daunting collection of territory in the sport of Enduro. It is a true test of both man and machine, a statement that is underlined by the fact that only 21 riders made it to the finish line in the 2008 edition.

When those that survive reach the chequered flag back in Sibiu some time on Wednesday afternoon they will have completed four days of hard riding of between 100 and 200km per day on a course that takes no prisoners. They will tackle trees, rocks, rivers, seemingly impassable uphill stretches and descents that result in an adrenalin rush. And before the race gets truly underway, only one thing is really sure - the winner of this soul destroying, four day competition will not only take home the trophy but also the admiration from all of his peer group riders.

Prologue finals
1. Xavier Galindo, Spain, KTM
2. Graham Jarvis, Britain, Sherco
3. Gerhard Forster, Germany, BMW
4. Andreas Lettenbichler, Germany, BMW
5. Chris Birch, New Zealand, KTM
6. Cyril Despres, France, KTM