FEATURES
Behind the Race: Mani Lettenbichler’s Domination of Red Bull Romaniacs
Manuel Lettenbichler (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) returned to the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship in Romania just five weeks after knee surgery and put on an absolute masterclass in how to dominate a multi-day event through a combination of speed and race management. After putting 34 minutes into the field on off-road Day 1, there was really no question that the German Hard Enduro surgeon was going to bring home his 5th win in the past six years, barring major physical or mechanical issues. In this article we’re going to take an analytical look at how Lettenbichler won again this year, and how he’s been able to dominate the race over the past several years.
The Enduro Bureau EP.01 | Rachel Gutish
In this first episode of the Enduro Bureau podcast, the hosts introduce themselves and their guest, Rachel Gutish, the defending AMA Endurocross Pro Women's Champion. Rachel shares her experience transitioning to a new team and the challenges of adjusting to a different bike. The conversation then shifts to a comparison of sprint enduro formats in Canada and the US. Rachel talks about her first races on the Sherco and her goals for the season. The episode concludes with Rachel recounting her crash and injury at the ISDE.
Ryder Leblond Interview | King of the Motos
Ryder LeBlond is a rising star in the Hard Enduro world. Coming into his second year with the Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing team he’s been building a reputation as a fast, sendy pro who’s fully committed to making his way to the top of the sport. Enduro.Media sat down with Ryder in Hammer Town USA at the 2024 King of the Motos / Round 1 of the US Hard Enduro Series to get his thoughts coming into the first race of the year, and talk a bit about his upcoming season, how he views himself as a professional hard enduro rider, dealing with adversity, and more.
Colton Haaker King of the Motos Pre-Race Interview
Enduro.Media caught up with US Enduro legend Colton Haaker (Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing) the day before racing action got started the 2024 Liqui Moly King of the Motos / Round 1 of the US Hard Enduro Series.
Danny Lewis King of the Motos Pre-Race Interview
We sat down with young American Hard Enduro and Endurocross pro Danny Lewis (Beta Racing) ahead of Round 1 of the 2024 US Hard Enduro Series at King of Motos, in Hammer Town USA out in the Johnson Valley Desert.
Danny was coming into the season having recently suffered from a bout of pneumonia, but was feeling very positive about the coming season.ld Championship), and the mental resiliency he needed to keep racing hard at the US Endurocross series after two tough opening rounds.
Trystan Hart King of the Motos Pre-Race Interview
We sat down with Canadian pro Hard Enduro rider Trystan Hart (Red Bull FMF KTM Factory Racing) out at Hammer Town USA in the Johnson Valley Desert the day before his 2024 season kicked off at King of the Motos (Round 1 of the US Hard Enduro Series).
We spoke with The Robot about his off-season and how it was the longest he’d been off the bike ever as a pro, his plans for the 2024 season (he’s only planning to race the Erzberg, Romaniacs, and Tennessee Knockout rounds of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship), and the mental resiliency he needed to keep racing hard at the US Endurocross series after two tough opening rounds.
Shooting Pro Hard Enduro: Red Bull Outliers - The Track Walk
In mid-August I got back from shooting for a week in Ontario at the Canadian Grand National Championships and the final round of the Triple Crown Series. Next up for me was to shoot Red Bull Outliers - Round 5 of the FIM World Hard Enduro Championship Series here in, and around, my hometown of Calgary AB.
For Outliers the prologue would take place at Olympic Plaza in downtown Calgary, with the single Hard Enduro stage being run in the Badlands just north of Brooks in Steveville, Alberta (about 2.5 hours east of Calgary). I’ll cover the prologue and the hard enduro stage in later posts, but for this one I’m going to share my experience going to shoot the pro riders’ reconnaissance track walk out in Steveville on the Thursday afternoon before the weekend of racing.
The Outliers course is held on private ranch land, just on the edge of Dinosaur Provincial Park. The Badlands are a beautiful combination of desert and prairie, characterised by relatively short but very steep hills made of clay and sandstone/shale. In the summer, this area can get atrociously hot and dry, with temperatures in 30c+ range most days. There’s basically no shade out there, except for what you can find in the coulees (valleys) below the hills. To top it all off, this is rattlesnake country, too, which just adds to the fun from a sports photographer’s perspective, lol!