Hells Gate proves to be just that “HELL”
The legendary Hells Gate held in Northern Italy is recognized as one of the most challenging of the Extreme Enduro competition. Normally around 10 of the field scrape their way to the finish; this year after KTM’s favorite Taddy Blazusiak crashed in the afternoon race, there were just two.
Blazusiak, who has won the last two editions of Hells Gate was firmly in charge in the morning race, finishing comfortably in front of Graham Jarvis and Andreas Lettenbichler. But early in the afternoon stage he crashed and had a nasty knock to his head. He did make an effort to get back in the race but then had to call it a day. KTM’s Chris Birch from New Zealand, was in eighth after the morning, which trimmed the field to just 10.
Positive result in morning stage
The much decorated Taddy took the result on chin. “I’ve had a really great run of results recently so although it’s disappointing it’s not the end of the world,” he told reporters after the race. Taddy said he had put in a confident run in the morning and had a good lead after the first special test. “I just tried not to make any mistakes and saved my energy on the last two tests,” he said.
Unstuck on the ice
The Polish extreme specialist got away well in the afternoon and opened up the lead but then hit some ice in the highest part of the course and ended up in a heap with a nasty blow to the head and some damage to the bike, including the front brake. When he realized he felt very dizzy from the crash he decided to withdraw and save himself for the upcoming The Tough One in the UK on February 20.
Hells Gate is well known for presenting extreme Enduro riders with some of their ever toughest obstacles, but this year there was another dimension – the ice. As Fabio Farioli, the head of the KTM Enduro Factory Team commented, it was this natural element that proved the trickiest. “Taddy went out very fast for the first 15-20 minutes of the afternoon session but then he crashed and hurt his head. He tried to go on but then had to quit. The problem for the riders was mostly the ice. We had very cold weather in Italy for the past few weeks and there were very tricky layers of frozen ground and ice. To be honest there were some places where it was virtually impossible to ride,” he said.
David Knight, a three-time Hells Gate winner who has returned to again ride a KTM this season for the Farioli Team decided to remain in Spain to concentrate of training ahead of the outdoor season.
The eventual winner, Dougie Lampkin, is a multi World Trials champion. Graham Jarvis, the only other finisher was also a top trials rider.
Results Morning Enduro (Stage 1)
1.Taddy Blazusiak, Poland, KTN, 34.02:70
2. Graham Jarvis, Sherco, 34.30:22;
3. Andreas Lettenbichler, 34.41.15;
4. Dougie Lampkin, Beta, 36.19.70;
5. Cory Graffunder (Husqvarna) 36.40:89;
Other KTM
8. Chris Birch, New Zealand, KTM, 38.11:54;
Main Event (stage 2 – official finishers)
1. Dougie Lampkin (Beta) 4 laps;
2. Graham Jarvis (Sherco) 4 laps
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