Red Bull KTM rider Alfredo Gomez wrapped up a strong weekend of racing with a win in the Hixpania Hard Enduro, a 2.5-hour, multi-lap race set in and around a quarry in northern Spain.
It was a satisfying victory for Gomez in front of his home crowd and he finished ahead of perennial rival, British veteran Graham Jarvis. Mario Roman of Spain finished third ahead of a field of mostly Spanish riders.
Gomez was also second behind Jarvis in Friday‰Ûªs nighttime city prologue, a great favorite with the spectators. He followed this up on Saturday with another second in the 60 km Enduro around the lake. But he saved the best till last to take the win in the main event in this inaugural race, new to the Hard Enduro calendar. The top 40 competitors from Saturday‰Ûªs race qualified for Sunday‰Ûªs main event.
Riders kicked off their challenge on Sunday with a Le Mans style start, where they had to run to retrieve their bikes, parked in a cave. Gomez got away cleanly in about fifth place on his KTM 300 EXC but already managed to pass several other riders on the first daunting rock climb that took riders up the slope of the quarry. They then had to tackle a 15-minute long Extreme Enduro loop around the remainder of the quarry and surrounding forests. Meanwhile, Gomez‰Ûªs main rival, Jarvis, experienced problems in the opening lap, and in doing so managed to damage to his exhaust. This handed the KTM rider about an eight-minute advantage going into the second lap.
