20 YEARS OF ERZBERG RODEO
MYTHS, EMOTIONS, LEGENDS
20 FOR 20
WEBISODE 13: THE LOCAL HEROES
We know the saying: "You are often a prophet in your own land."
In this sense, the successes and achievements of the national and local
athletes for the Erzbergrodeo are extremely important in my view.
The first Austrian winner in the Erzberg Rodeo was Andreas Obereder.
I believe he has very frequently participated for a long time.
Yes, there are many, many names.
I particularly remember Erich Brandauer.
He impresses me simply because if you look at him,
you will say he can't be sitting on a motorcycle,
let alone riding through the whole Erzberg Rodeo.
But he still does it today.
Erich Brandauer is a cult figure. He has ridden everything.
He is definitely one of the best people out there.
Like all the enduro riders and trial riders and alpha types,
that you just have to describe that way,
Erich helped shape enduro sports in Austria.
NO AUSTRIAN COULD EVER WIN AT THE ERZBERG
It is probably a very nice story
that one of the best local riders at Erzberg, Erich Brandauer,
almost picked up the next generation of national riders himself
and built them up himself.
That is how we met Lars Enöckl for the first time.
Yeah, Erich Brandauer really made Lars Enöckl in the enduro scene.
I think he recognizes, too, if at some point someone else
can reach the top level. He recognized that in Lars Enöckl
from the very beginning. That is why he really pushed him.
I belive that he will always help Lars to advance in any way.
I think that people like Erich or Lars have shown
that it's possible, as an amateur rider or as a semi-professional
from Austria, to really reach your goal at the Erzberg Rodeo;
you can even get to the podium. I believe that the community
is really critical to this achievement.
I think it is always a major motivation when you see,
oh, a new talent is coming from our ranks.
I think that his two wins, as confirmation of his potential,
have been a very strong motivation
for many riders in Austria.
AUSTRIAN PROLOGUE WINNERS FALLY, REISINGER, ENÖCKL
WEBISODE 14: THE LEGENDARY SECTIONS
Your opponent, superficially, is your competitor, the other racer.
But the really great opponent is the terrain, the track
$$and in our case the mountain.
One of my favorite parts is the start of the Red Bull Hare Scrambles.
But it is really about the atmosphere that builds up there.
Maybe you could describe it like this:
If there is anywhere where you can touch the adrenaline, it's there.
One or two minutes of absolute silence.
That is when the engines are turned off,
right before the first row gets the go signal.
It's a moment that everyone down there
will remember. It is breathtaking.
It gives you goosebumps. It's truly impressive.
You can just see the tension. And when the first row rides off
and the race has begun,
there is even more tension there in the back rows.
It gets transmitted all the way to the end, that is, to the finish line.
I really enjoy that.
So I would like to begin with the bathtub.
I can still clearly remember how we said,
"So, the bathtub, do we ride it or not?"
Several of us said, "well, if we leave that part it in,"
"under the circumstances here the race is over."
The bathtub is not an issue anymore.
So you can see how the performance level has dramatically improved.
Another section of the track which really gives you goosebumps
is Carl's Dinner.
You have to imagine that not everyone can get through it on foot.
You wouldn't want to do it on foot, let alone with a motorcycle.
CARLS' DINNER, NAMED AFTER KARL KATOCH
The dinner is really one of the most aggravating stretches
that you can do as an enduro rider.
But the water pipe is a benchmark.
The water pipe was a stretch of track in the beginning of the Erzberg Rodeo
which really scared people. It was one of the longest approaches
that there was to deal with on the Erzberg.
Very selective, because it was a very difficult approach
and a slope which got steeper and steeper.
But when I looked at Dynamite, it was really impossible for me.
I thought, that can really never work.
Dynamite is inconceivably difficult for me.
If you look at the professionals and the way they deal with Dynamite,
you see the riding technique and talent on what is not such a long
but a relatively short slope. But it separates the wheat from the chaff.
ONLY 3% OF RIDERS MAKE THE FINISH ON AVERAGE
The mountain gives away quite a lot.
Our crew has, I think, a few good ideas.
But I think it will be good if we can hold the level.
I think people also want the race to get a little harder
from year to year.
We are very careful to
keep the sections easier at the beginning of the race,
and then put the real pain near the end.
For 2014 after Dynamite I plan
to put another cherry on the cake.