2024 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship: Round 2

Erzbergrodeo took place in Eisenerz, Austria last weekend, at the infamous Iron Giant. Our Supported Pro Enduro Riders Jonny Walker and Australia's Ruben Chadwick were both competing. Both Beta riders were at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of riding Erzberg - Walker has won the event 3 times previously and competed there more than 10 times, but Chadwick (who is the reigning Australian Hard Enduro Champion) on the other hand, was competing there and outsideof Australia for the very first time!

Erzbergrodeo Iron Road Prologue

The Prologue on Friday and Saturday sorts out the starting order for the main event - 1500 riders have 2 runs at the "Iron Road Prologue" to record their fastest time, with the top 500 then get a starting place for Sunday's main event, referred to as the Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble. Located over 1,000 meters up in the Styrian mountains, riders were met with low-level cloud and plenty of heavy rain, which hampered visibility and made the treacherous tracks even tougher. For the Hare Scramble, rider's start in rows of 50, so it pays to get as faster a time as possible in the Prologue, in order to start near the front. With both men racing Beta 300 RR's, Walker managed the 7th quickest time to give him a front row start on Sunday. Chadwick managed a very respectable 59th quickest time, giving the Australian a 2nd row start. Click here to see a video of Jonny Walker at the start of the Prologue.

Erzbergrodeo Hare Scramble

This year was considered one of the most technically and physically demanding courses of all time. Sunday's main race was packed with some of the hardest sections in Erzberg history. This included two runs through the notorious boulder field of Carl’s Dinner and two runs through Erzberg’s wet and slippery forests, with the second run through being trickier than the first. This tested both bike and rider to the max and it was clear from the start that not many riders would manage the 27 Checkpoints within the 4 hour time limit. This year, only 8 riders completed course, compared to 17 riders last year!

Walker got a good start off the front row, although by Checkpoint 1, KTM's Mani Lettenbichler was in a lead that he wouldn't relinquish. The reigning German World Champion rode a Hard Enduro masterclass yet again and finished the course in a total time of 2 hours 47 minutes, 20 minutes ahead of Canada's Trystan Hart, also of KTM. Walker was actually running in P2 until Checkpoint 5, but then Sherco's Teodor Kabakchiev and Rieju's Will Hoare popped up ahead of him before Checkpoint 6. It would be after the race that the Kabakchiev and Hoare were have found to have made a navigational error and actually missed out Checkpoint 5, so their times were adjusted back to Checkpoint 4 only. 

Walker was looking good to get a potential podium, until he had to pull over for a few minutes to adjust some things on his bike in Carl's Dinner. This allowed Hart, GasGas's Wade Young, Husqvarna's legendary 49 year old Graham Jarvis and the Sherco of Mario Roman to pass unfortunately. Our supported Beta man managed to set off again though and came home with a P6 in a total time of 3 hours 40 mins, proving yet again he is a World Class rider. Congrats to Jonny Walker on a great result!

Beta Australia's Ruben Chadwick

Our supported Beta Australia Enduro Team rider Ruben Chadwick, had a good start from the 2nd row, but experienced a lot of bottlenecks early on in the race, hampering his ability to make passes. However, as the race progressed and the route became more technical, Chadwick was able to get into a good flow and began to pick riders off, moving his way up the leaderboard.

Ruben Chadwick picked off a lot of riders in the technical sections like Carl's Dinner. Ph. Beta Australia

Chadwick continued to gain momentum and managed to gain a solid lead over the other Australian riders in the race. As the 4 hour claxon sounded, he finished his race at checkpoint 22 (Burping Stones) with a time of 3 hours 51 and came P20 out of 500 riders! Chadwick's result at Erzberg marks the highest position an Australian has achieved in the history of the race and is a fantastic result for the Australian’s first overseas race! Well done to Chadwick and Beta Australia from all of us at AS3 Performance and we look forward to seeing him compete at the Iron Giant again next year!

This shot of Chadwick highlights how tough of a race Erzberg is. Ph. Beta Australia

2024 Erzbergrodeo Finishers

1. Mani Lettenbichler (GER), KTM

2. Trystan Hart (CAN), KTM

3. Mario Roman (ESP), Sherco

4. Graham Jarvis (GBR), Husqvarna

5. Wade Young (RSA), GasGas

6. Jonny Walker (GBR), Beta

7. Mitch Brightmore (GBR), Husqvarna

8. Matthew Green (RSA), KTM

AS3 Performance Essential Parts Used By Walker & Chadwick For Erzbergrodeo 2024

AS3 Performance Clutch Cover

Our billet aluminium clutch covers are a much stronger and a more durable alternative to the OEM clutch covers - this is extremely important for Hard Enduro! They are hard anodised to resist wear to the face of the cover and feature our laser etched AS3 Performance Factory Series branding. You can read in more detail about the features and benefits of installing an AS3 Performance clutch cover here.

AS3 Performance Rear Brake Disc Guard

Our aluminium rear brake disc guards are an essential protection part to help prevent damage to the rear brake disc, which, if damaged, could lead to the end of a race, especially one like Erzbergrodeo! They provide a massive upgrade to the OEM plastic rear brake disc guard.

AS3 Performance Master Cylinder Perch Clamps

Designed to mount to the back of the front brake master cylinder and clutch perch, master cylinder perch clamps are another essential protection part for Hard Enduro events. Also made of billet aluminium, they house a plastic insert which allows them to rotate on any impact, helping to prevent damage to the levers, master cylinder or clutch perch.

Ruben Chadwick with his 2024 Beta 300 RR. Here you can see our clutch cover ad rear brake disc guard. Ph. Beta Australia

FAQ's about Erzbergrodeo

When was the first ever Erzbergrodeo event?

The very first Erzbergrodeo was held in 1995 and 120 riders took part. Within 4 years, over 1000 riders were taking part and nowadays there are 1500 starting places, which sell out within a few hours. The lucky 1500 take part in the Rocket Ride and the Iron Road Prologue on the Friday and Saturday, with only 500 riders qualifying for the Hare Scramble on the Sunday.

How many riders finish the Erzbergrodeo enduro?

Erzberg is very tough. In 1999, 51 riders made the finish within the 4 hour time limit. The race seems to have got progressively harder since then though and in 2015 only 5 riders made the finish. Last year (2023) however, 17 riders out of 500 made the finish.

Who has the most Erzbergrodeo wins?

The current Erzberg wins record is 5. Both Poland's Taddy Blazusiak and Great Britain's Graham Jarvis have won it 5 times. Blazusiak actually won it 5 times in row incredibly, between 2007 and 2011! Jarvis hasn't won it consecutively, but at 49 years old, still remains one of the best current Hard Enduro riders in the World with him always placing extremely high at the biggest events. He has legendary status with over a million followers on Instagram and is seen as the greatest rider in the history of Hard Enduro!

Who is the youngest ever Erzbergrodeo finisher?

Germany's Mani Lettenbichler was the youngest finisher in history at 16 years old in 2014. He has since become the youngest winner of Erzberg and has now won it 3 times in a row with his victory at this year's event, equalling Jonny Walker's haul of wins at the Iron Giant. It will be interesting to see if Lettenbichler can match Blasuziak's and Jarvis's wins record in the next 2 years.

What is the prize money for winning Erzbergrodeo?

The top riders do not receive any appearance fees and there is no prize money for the winner! This is very unique in terms of racing at an event of this magnitude. Only a handshake and a finishers flag from the event's mastermind - Karl Katoch - greets the finishers. It is those riders that do manage to finish who become respected worldwide and become household names to the Hard Enduro fans round the World.