The 21st edition of the Erzberg Rodeo took place in Eisenerz, Austria, this past weekend where 1,844 fearless competitors entered to conquer the Iron Giant. Only 500 competitors would qualify for Sunday’s main race, the Erzberg Rodeo, after a qualifying ‘prologue’ that took place both Friday and Saturday.
Brother Leader Tread KTM’s Wade Young qualified 5th in time trial behind pace setter Jonny Walker (KTM, GBR), Austrian Ossi Reisinger (Husqvarna), 5-times Erzberg winner Taddy Blazusiak (KTM, POL) and Austrian Lars Enöckl (KTM). Both of Young’s teammates Travis Teasdale and Scott Bouverie qualified on the so important first row with a 24th and 32nd fastest time respectively.
Off to a good start Young went into checkpoint (CP) 7, ‘Ludwig’s Land’, in third place behind Walker and Jarvis. After that the ‘no help zone’ started, meaning that no spectators were allowed to assist competitors. Heading into well-known sections like ‘Machine’ and ‘Carl’s Dinner’ Alfredo Gomez (Husqvarna) and Andreas Lettenbichler (KTM), managed to pass Young, but the talented rider from Paddock, KZN, kept up with the pace and completed Carl’s Dinner in style.
With the section being way longer than usual Carl’s Dinner found a lot of victims this year, but Brother Leader Tread KTM’s Scott Bouverie and Travis Teasdale did not give up and headed into the game deciding forest sections.
When Walker, Jarvis, Gomez, Lettenbichler and Young headed into CP 19 ‘Downtown’ after almost 3 hours of riding they had to help each other to overcome this gruelling section of the race with unridable forest sections where they depended on each other to get through with five riders pulling one bike at a time. Spending almost an hour in the forest riders were tired and exhausted with the day’s heat adding to their fatigue. These true gentlemen agreed there and then to ride across the finish line together as without each other none of them would have made it to the finish. The organisers realised that they would not see a finisher before the 4pm cut off and decided to cut out a few sections of the race, allowing the riders to finish with only a few minutes to spare.
It was with great disappointment however, when South African Wade Young was told before riding across the finish line that he apparently missed a checkpoint around CP 18, completely unaware of his mistake. Having helped the other four riders to get through the forest and not being able to share the glory has to be one of the hardest things to accept.
“Downtown was impossible to get up on your own and all the top 5 of us helped each other and agreed to all finish together as first. As I arrived into the finish I was told that I had missed checkpoint 18 and would be disqualified. From thinking I was one of the winners conquering the Iron Giant to not finishing is disappointing to say the least. But I will be back next year.”, said Young.
Lying in 10th and 12th place overall Scott Bouverie and Travis Teasdale were running out of time when they had caught up with the Hemingway brothers while being time barred after CP 18. They had given it their all and did their team and South Africa proud, but with only four hours to complete the ‘hardest Erzberg Rodeo ever’, as winner Jonny Walker called it, they realised that they would not be able to see the finish line in 2015. All will be back again next year, for more blood, sweat and tears to try and claim that finishers flag and hopefully one day a piece of the Iron Giant with a number one written on it.
With a little disappointment still present, everyone who attempted to conquer the Iron Giant in 2015 is a true champion and while the world has crowned four official winners, South Africans in their hearts have crowned a fifth.
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Click on documents to download:
10 JUN 15 KTM Erzberg Rodeo – SA 5th.doc (doc)