Teodor Kabakchiev secured victory at the Roof of Africa, the sixth round of the 2026 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, following a three-day race in the Maloti Mountains of Lesotho from September 24-26. The Sherco Factory rider took the lead at the start of Saturday’s Final Ascent and maintained his overnight lead from day two. With a total time of 9:59:46.2, he was the only competitor to finish in under 10 hours. This marks his first overall round victory of the 2026 season.
Husqvarna rider Billy Bolt did not compete, as he recovers from a knee injury.
The deciding Gold Class race on Saturday was two fast laps of a 24-mile hard enduro course with multiple checkpoints. Kabakchiev set off at the front and never let his closest rivals claw back time. His 3:44:37.0 was the second-fastest time of the day and gave him overall victory by 2:46.9. Over the week, he was fourth in Thursday’s time trial, won Friday’s 68-mile Big Loop and was runner-up on the final day. Consistency paid off for the Sherco rider.
Behind him, the Roof witnessed one of its most closely contested finishes. Manuel Lettenbichler, who began the day 38 seconds behind Wade Young in overall time, surpassed him by 38.4 seconds on the Final Ascent. This victory earned Lettenbichler second place overall with a time of 10:02:33.1, narrowly edging out Young, who finished in 10:02:33.2—just a tenth of a second apart.
That means Young will have to wait for a record-breaking 10th Roof win. The nine-time winner still finished on the podium, returning after missing 2025 through injury. Lettenbichler is still looking for his first win in Lesotho, but second place adds to his title bid. Matthew Green completed a strong week in fourth.
James Moore delivered the ride of the day. The current Roof Champion took the victory in Thursday’s time trial, but a mechanical issue on day two cost him over 44 minutes, dropping him to 11th overall. On Saturday, he was unbeatable. His time of 3:39:25.8 was the fastest of the day by 5:11.1, moving him up the rankings and into fifth place overall. The result also gave Moore the Junior-class win.
Lettenbichler leads the 2026 FIM Hard Enduro Championship with 177 points, followed by Mitch Brightmore with 139 and Kabakchiev with 124.CN
2026 FIM Hard Enduro Round 6 Results
OVERALL (Top 5)
- Teodor Kabakchiev (She) 9:59:46.2
- Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 10:02:33.1
- Wade Young (GG) 10:02:33.2
- Matthew Green (KTM) 10:34:12.9
- James Moore (Bet) 10:37:57.7
