Jarvis continues his domination with victory at the 10th running of the Italian classic Hell’s Gate.
With the 2013 race marking the 10th edition of the gruelling event, Jarvis made short work of the snowy conditions to secure his third consecutive race win. Behind him, KTM’s Jonny Walker repeated his result from 2012 to claim the runner-up position, despite ending the race barely able to stand, while Beta’s Cody Webb became the first US rider ever to finish on the podium.
With snow falling heavily in the lead up to the race, the popular Hell’s Gate venue resembled that of an Alpine ski resort. Deep, snowy tracks combined with brutal rocky climbs ensured the 100 competitors entered into the morning’s qualifying race faced a wide variety of extreme challenges.
Getting proceedings underway, the traditional morning enduro gave riders a taster of what was follow. Immediately getting to grips with the snow covered ruts and boulder steps, despite suffering with sickness, Walker set the fastest time in two of the three timed special tests to take the win. Behind him, Jarvis delivered a winning result in the final special test. With Webb finishing a further 30 seconds back in third place the stage was set for the evening race to begin.