Walker Victorious at The Tough One
Jean Turner | March 9, 2015
Red Bull KTM’s Jonny Walker finally nabbed the overall win at The Tough One. Photography by Future 7 Media
Jonny Walker and Graham Jarvis faced off once again, this time at The Tough One extreme race in the UK. Conditions were drier than normal for the 2015 running of The Tough One, which once again took place at the Nantmawr Quarry near the Welsh border of England. Improved traction meant higher speeds at the extreme race, with the speediest lap times belonging to Jonny Walker. The Red Bull KTM rider was successful in fending off the advances of Bel-Ray Husqvarna’s Graham Jarvis, although Jarvis admittedly struggled in the early laps of the 2.5-hour race with arm pump.
“The biggest challenge was getting to 100% during the first few laps,” Jarvis said. “I didn’t really make any mistakes. My biggest problem was those first three or four laps where I struggled with arm pump. Once I got my lines right and managed to start pushing I had a good pace and kept a similar speed to Jonny [Walker].”
The problem, however, was that Walker already had a decent gap at that point, which he maintained all the way to the finish.
Although he initially struggled with arm pump, Bel-Ray Husqvarna’s Graham Jarvis finished third at The Tough One. Photography by Future 7 Media
In the end, Walker completed 13 laps around the extreme course, finishing over two minutes ahead of Jarvis. Husqvarna’s Alfredo Gomez rounded out the podium with a third-place finish, but he had to work for it after he got caught up in a crash with several other riders off the start. He struggled with more hang-ups on the opening lap when he got his rear wheel stuck inside a tractor tire.
“It was a crazy situation,” Gomez said. “It was so unlucky. I think I was 16th closing the first lap. For one hour or more I gave it all I had. When I saw Letti (Andreas Lettenbichler) in third I immediately felt more comfortable. For the last 30 minutes there was no more water left in my drink system and it was hard, but I’m really happy with my third position.”
Walker, Jarvis and Gomez were the only three riders on the lead lap. KTM riders Lettenbichler and Mario Roman rounded out the top-five.
Jean Turner | Contributor
A former staffer at Cycle News, Turner continues to contribute to the website and magazine as a columnist and someone we can count on to whip up a few thousand words on an off-road race when needed.
