Manuel Lettenbichler of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing triumphed in the 2025 Red Bull Erzbergrodeo. He seized the lead around the 40-minute mark, riding his KTM 300 EXC, and went on to secure his fourth consecutive win at the Erzbergrodeo in Austria, May 31-June 1.
Lettenbichler, after qualifying in the Iron Road Prologue with the 11th-fastest time, earned a front-row spot for Sunday’s main event. The prologue hillclimb victory went to Josep Garcia, the leader of the EnduroGP World Championship, who climbed the hill nearly mistake-free, beating second-place Andrea Verona by seven seconds. Daniel Sanders, the 2025 Dakar Rally winner, secured third place.
Conditions were ideal at the beginning of Sunday’s premier race, and a strong start saw “Mani” (Lettenbichler) quickly move into the top five. He then began to close in on the early leader, Husqvarna’s Billy Bolt. After 25 minutes, Lettenbichler had overtaken everyone except Bolt and was closely following him. As they entered the challenging Carl’s Dinner section for the first time, Bolt made a mistake, allowing Mani to take the lead. From that moment, Lettenbichler proved unbeatable, consistently increasing his lead and navigating the later sections with relative ease.
Even with heavy rain around the one-hour-20-minute mark, Mani remained focused and put on a champion’s performance, completing the second half of the race incident-free and finishing over 12 minutes ahead of second place. The victory is Mani’s fourth consecutive Erzbergrodeo win, just one short of the record held by Taddy Blazusiak.
“It feels amazing to take the win here at Erzberg again,” Lettenbichler said. “Nothing in hard enduro is guaranteed, and I was definitely feeling the pressure here, even before the race. I got a good start, but Billy’s pace at the front was fast, and it took me a while to catch him. I knew when we got into the trees, I’d have a good chance to make a push for the lead. I think Billy made a couple of mistakes, and I was able to get ahead. After that, I just kept my head down and focused on getting through every section without any issues.
“The track was perfect this year, I enjoyed it, and the fans have been incredible as always. That’s four in a row now. I’ve got one more to get to equal Taddy and then a few more wins to beat the record. I’m already looking forward to next year, it’s such an amazing event.”
“It was a tough one,” Bolt said. “I knew after a good start that I had to push hard from the off. I got a little bit tired on the first section of Carl’s Dinner, needing a couple of goes to exit the trees. That took my momentum away from me. I got fresh energy on the second run through Carl’s Dinner, but by that stage, Mani had already gained control of the race, and I knew I needed to maintain my position of second. But I can’t complain. To have missed the race 12 months ago with injury and come back to where we are now is very satisfying. For sure, runner-up is not the result I came here for, but I left it all out on the mountain today, I didn’t hold back.”
Sherco’s Teodor Kabakchiev completed the podium, crossing the finish line approximately 12 minutes from Bolt. GasGas rider Mitch Brightmore was fourth overall after an epic battle with Kabakchiev. Their race for the final podium spot was decided on the final climb to the checkered, and they finished just two seconds apart.
“I’m proud to have reached my first Erzberg podium,” Kabakchiev said. “It’s probably the most technical race in the world, and I proved to myself that I have improved and can be strong also in technical races.”
Trystan Hart of FMF KTM Factory Racing surged from a mid-pack position to reach third place around the one-hour mark, after a great run through the Machine section. He held his position and navigated the challenging course with good speed, gradually catching up to Bolt, who was in second place. Unfortunately for Hart, disaster struck for the 2024 AMA EnduroCross Champion with only two checkpoints to go when loose sprocket bolts required Hart to make repairs trackside. Getting underway again, he was able to secure fifth place at the checkered flag.
“I’m gutted to be honest,” Hart said. “Any finish at Erzberg is good, but I was definitely on course for a podium when I had a small issue with only a couple of sections to go. I was able to get back on the bike and bring it home in fifth, but it wasn’t where I wanted to be. I had a tough start but managed to get into a strong rhythm and started passing the riders ahead. [Everyone was] riding well, but it’s my fourth time here and my fourth top five. I’ll be back again next year, aiming to fight for my first win.”
Sixth place went to Triumph’s Jonny Walker, who rode a 250cc four-stroke. Sherco’s Mario Roman was seventh, who finished well ahead of hard enduro legend Graham Jarvis, while Australian Will Riordan took ninth overall and became the first ever Australian finisher. Beta’s Alfredo Gomez rounded out the top 10.
American Cody Webb made it to Check Point 23 in 17th position before the four-hour time limit. A faulty fuel cap vent cost Webb a lot of time after getting doused with fuel during what should have been a routine fuel stop.
2025 Red Bull Erzbergrodeo Restults
1. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 2:49:17.58
2. Billy Bolt (Hus) 3:01:57.565
3. Teodor Kabakchiev (She) 3:13:44.942
4. Mitch Brightmore (GG) 3:13:46.895
5. Trystan Hart (KTM) 3:18:32.642
6. Jonny Walker (Tri) 3:26:53.833
7. Mario Roman (She) 3:29:17.323
8. Graham Jarvis (KTM) 3:39:39.218
9. Will Riordan (She) 3:42:03.376
10. Alfredo Gomez (Bet) 3:44:55.805
Complete results here: https://ebrtiming.motorradreporter.com/checkpoint/27
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