Personal History
Hell’s Gate in Italy marks the first major Extreme Enduro race of 2015. As defending champion Bel-Ray Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Graham Jarvis heads to the notoriously difficult Il Ciocco venue aiming to secure a record breaking fifth consecutive victory. Winner of the race since 2011, he’s the most successful rider ever to compete at Hell’s Gate and has his sights set on ensuring 2015 gets off to a winning start…
Husqvarna Racing News: Hell’s Gate 2014 marked a dominant winning performance from you, were you surprised by how well it went?
Graham: “Last year things went almost perfect for me. It’s rare that happens at Hell’s Gate. I had a good ride in the morning’s qualifying enduro and that set me up well for the main race. Everything just came together perfectly. I started well, managed to open up a good lead early on and kept pushing. Winning by 22 minutes was unexpected, hopefully things will go my way again in 2015.”
HRN: What are you expecting from this year’s event?
Graham: “You have to expect everything and anything really. The weather is normally the thing that changes most. Some years it’s warm with a little water in the rivers, other years it’s freezing and there’s snow on the ground. It’s a long, tough race whatever the weather does. The track is normally always the same, with the exception of a few small changes. Generally, the qualifying race isn’t too extreme, but making sure you don’t make any mistakes is what’s most important. The main race is what it is – tough and demanding.”
HRN: The event is one of only a handful that sees you race in the dark. Is that difficult to get used to each year?
Graham: “It’s not too bad. The most important thing is not damaging your lights. I did that one year and it makes things so much harder. If you have good lights it’s ok. We don’t race that much in the dark but it can deliver a few surprises right at the end of the race.”
HRN: As a four-time winner of the race what does it feel like to become the first rider to scale the final Hell’s Peak climb after almost 10 hours of racing?
Graham: “Hell’s Peak is nothing like you will experience at any other race. The hill is impossible to ride up alone – you need all the support of the spectators to pull you up. I always get a massive rush of adrenaline when I get there. The atmosphere is electric – everyone gets so involved. They literally carry you across the finish line. It gets pretty crazy.”
HRN: Last year marked your first win with Husqvarna at Hell’s Gate. Starting as defending champion the goal is obviously for a repeat victory. But who will be your biggest challenge for glory?
Graham: “Every year the competition gets stronger and stronger – right now there are about four riders that can win. Jonny Walker was second last year and he really wants to beat me in Italy. But my teammate Alfredo Gomez is a rider that I’ll need to keep a very close eye on. He missed the race last year due to illness but in September he won the Extreme Lagares, which was very technical and a similar type of terrain to Hell’s Gate. He’s young and hungry to succeed.”
HRN: Finally, a fifth win will see you become the most successful rider ever at Hell’s Gate. Is that something that’s important to you?
Graham: “Trying to do my best to win any race is important, but I guess knowing that I can get the most wins at the event is special. Hell’s Gate is a race that I really enjoy, so that always helps. Last year things went perfectly, but I know there will be a number of riders also looking to try and win. I’ll do my best, as I always do, and hopefully things will work out well again.” qoute
Riding Goals
uick summary of the top extreme enduro riders and the extreme enduro events they ride. See our exclusive interview with Graham Jarvis here!
EXTREME ENDURO RIDERS
Graham Jarvis, born 1975, is a professional extreme enduro rider. See our interview with the extreme enduro legend here! He won is first trials competition at the age of 10 and worked his way up to become 5 x British Trials Champion, 4 x Scottish Six Day Trial winner and reached World No.4 in trials. Graham Jarvis has placed first in all the major extreme enduro events: Romaniacs, Erzberg, King of the Hill, Hells Gate, The Tough One, Sea to Sky, Extreme Lagares, Roof of Africa. He regularly enters endurocross events too. Check out his website and see our interview with Graham Jarvis here.
Jonny Walker, born 1991, is the new kid on the block in hard enduro events. He won the British Schoolboy Trials Championship twice, and had a top three ranking until he was 17. Buying his first motocross bike led him to try the sport of Enduro, after a friend suggested he should have a go. Despite his age, Jonny's ambition is to become a full time professional rider and he has had considerable success in the top extreme enduros and endurocross too. See the Jonny Walker website here, and his stunning ride in the Romaniacs prolog here.
Andreas “Lettie” Lettenbichler, born 1974, comes from a strong trials background like all the other top riders. What sets Lettie apart is he isn't a professional rider so has limited time due to his trade job in Germany. He's consistently on the podium for the major extreme enduro events. Visit his site here and Lettie in Romaniacs action here.
Alfredo Gomez, born 1989 in Spain, cut his teeth on trials riding like all extreme enduro riders, winning the junior world trials championship in 2007. A team mate with Jarvis, he's rapidly making a name for himself having beaten Graham this year to win Lagares, and in the past has placed third in The Tough One and been on the podium for many events.
Ben Hemingway started riding at three years of age, and in his first trials competition at eight years old. He established himself in the trials world with winning the French Five Days, the Scott Trial twice, eighth in the European championships, fourth in the British championship, and part of a winning Trials Des Nations team. Relatively new to the world of extreme enduro, he has come third overall in the Hard Enduro championship, third in Erzberg, first in The Tough One, and fifth in Hells Gate, the Roof of Africa and Lagares. As of 2014, he ranked sixth on the (unofficial) Kings of Extreme Enduro ranking.
Taddy Blazusiak, born 1983, made a name for himself when he won the Erzberg Rodeo in 2006 when someone lent him a bike to try the event. Originally a trials rider, his goal was to become the world's number one rider - Taddy was the European Trials Champion in 2004 and reach eight internationally in 2006. But Taddy Blazusiak's surprise success at Erzberg has diverted him to winning extreme enduro events and regularly flogging the top US riders in endurocross events in the USA. See his website here and watch him in action here.
Chris Birch from New Zealand was born in 1980 and started competing in trials in 1988 and won each class by the time he was 18. Chris is a three time winner of the Roof of Africa and won Red Bull Romaniacs in 2010. Chris has competed successfully in all the major extreme enduros around the world. See his website here and our video of his awesome riding skills here.
David Knight, born 1978, is an accomplished all rounder, having won the British Expert trials championship and a range of motocross and hard enduro events. David has competed and placed highly in many extreme enduro events including Hells Gate, Erzberg Rodeo, the AMA Endurocross, The Tough One in the UK, and Last Man Standing in the USA. Check out site here and him in action here.
Dougie Lampkin, born 1976, Dougie Lampkin is a trials bike legend, winning five consecutive World Indoor Championships, seven consecutive World Outdoor Championships, four World Team Championships, six British Adult Championships, two Spanish Adult Championships and the world famous Scott Trial on four occasions. In recent years Dougie has been on the podium in extreme enduro events like the Erzberg Rodeo and Romaniacs. Visit the Dougie Lampkin website and watch him put a trials bike through its paces here.
There are plenty of other extremely talented riders in endurocross and extreme enduros - here are others currently doing very well in the past few years... Alfredo Gomez, Ben Hemingway, Paul Bolton, Dan Hemingway, Xavi Galindo, Philipp Scholz and Wade Young.
Competitive Highlights
Erzberg Rodeo is an annual one-day Austrian extreme enduro that started in 1995. It is the largest enduro event and has entrants rom over 40 countries. Out of 500 entrants, often only a handful manage to reach the finish line. Riders negotiate ravines filled with massive boulders, near vertical hill climbs and descents, and speed their way around the quarry which is closed for this extreme enduro event. Watch Dougie Lampkin's ride here.
Romaniacs is a gruelling annual extreme four-day hard enduro event held in Romania since 2004. The prolog stage is similar to endurocross, and is run along the main street of Sibiu before the action spills in the nearby rocky mountain sides and thick forests. Riders use GPS for navigation which makes the riding even tougher trying to keep an eye on two things at once. See the top riders in action here.
Sea to Sky is an annual extreme enduro over three days in Turkey. The first day involves a beach race, the second a forest race, and the final day starts from the beach of a tourist resort up to the top the top of the 2365m high Olympus Mountain. See the 2013 highlights here.
The Roof of Africa is an annual four-day extreme enduro in South Africa, attracting hundreds of entrants internationally to ride rocks, rocks and more rocks. The name hints at the consistently high altitude through the mountains of Lesotho. Watch the riders rocking on here.
The Tough One is an annual one day hard enduro event that used to be held in an old quarry in the UK and has similarities to an endurocross event. The venue has now changed to a motocross track but accesses the steep treacherous surrounding lands plus man made obstacles - log crossings, tire jumps, the lorry trailer and hanging dummies. Watch a race here.
Extreme Lagares in a one day annual hard enduro event in Lagares, Portugal. The prolog event is similar to an endurocross race and attracts thousands of spectators. Only a handful of riders are expected to finish in the Pro class due to its gruelling nature. Watch it here.