Husqvarna rider beats Cody Webb and Alfredo Gómez to victory in another memorable event.
By Joseph Caron Dawe
Graham Jarvis won his third Red Bull Hare Scramble, and made his most emphatic win to boot, with a victory by more than 30 minutes at the 2016 Erzbergrodeo.
The Husqvarna rider blasted his way from a second-row start to make up ground on all those in front of him, and by the time he took the chequered flag there wasn’t a soul in sight of the Brit.
Jarvis rode a masterful race to complete the course – which measures just over 30km in length – in just shy of 2h20m, barely putting a wheel wrong on his way to the win.
“It’s fantastic! I can’t believe it. I got a fairly good start and got through the pack. I kept my head together and stayed relaxed. It’s been a team effort.
It’s an incredible experience, it’s the number one event in the world and the one I want to win.
Graham Jarvis
American rider Cody Webb caught Alfredo Gómez at Lazy Noon, the penultimate checkpoint of the 25 stages the riders had to negotiate on a gruelling course, as the pair struggled to overcome a particularly difficult climb.
Each rider had to make multiple attempts to conquer the steep rise, and it was Webb who managed to do so first. Gómez, under intense pressure and seeing his hopes of making the podium hang in the balance with the chasing riders breathing down his neck, dug deep and reached the summit. He brought his KTM home in third to round out the rostrum.
With a four hour time limit on the race, there was still plenty of drama to be had as a handful of riders gave everything they had to make it to the chequered flag.
Spaniard Mario Roman swept through to take fourth place, while British youngster Billy Bolt capitalised on the fact that Lazy Noon proved a stumbling block for others to rocket up the climb and secure fifth. The 18-year-old was something of a revelation at this year’s event.
Wade Young and Paul Bolton both got the better of five-time winner Taddy Blazusiak, who had a broken brake lever and damaged clutch to content with, but who still managed to finish within the allotted time.
Philipp Scholz was the ninth and final finisher, as the Iron Giant again showed its unforgiving nature.
