KTM Enduro Factory Team rider Taddy Blazusiak stamped his mark on the '08 running of the Erzberg Rodeo in no uncertain terms this past weekend as the Polish extreme enduro star dominated the grueling Red Bull Hare Scramble event as well as comfortably topping the newly introduced Rodeo-X Endurocross. Finishing over 15 minutes ahead of his closest rival in the Red Bull Hare Scramble event, and in a time of just under one-hour and 20 minutes, Taddy claimed his second Erzberg victory in as many years.
Despite his sizable winning margin Taddy was made to work hard for his victory, as a poor start resulted in him having to pass numerous riders during the early stages of the race. Forced to fight his way through the dust, as well as having to weave his way around the riders ahead of him on the early climbs, it wasn't long until Taddy was in fourth position and catching KTM team mates Cyril Despres and Juha Salminen.
Once past Cyril and Juha it was Andreas Lettenbichler who was the next rider in Taddy's sights and before the half way stage of the race Taddy moved into the lead. Pushing hard to pull away from Lettenbichler the Pole saw his lead at the front of the race extend significantly as he worked his way through the toughest sections of the event. During the last 30 minutes of the race Taddy was unchallenged, with even the several newly introduced sections of the course unable to slow his pace.
Taddy Blazusiak: "It's great to have won at Erzberg again. It was a lot harder for me this year because the track was harder, the other riders were faster and I was expected to win. Last year no one really knew who I was.
"I got a bad start, which made things difficult for me in the early stages of the race. I thought my bike had started but it took several kicks before I was going, by that point I was behind and in the dust of the other riders. I bumped my way past a few riders in the first two corners and then almost failed to get to the top of the first hill because I lost all my speed at the bottom of the climb. I rode like a mad man for a while then, to make sure I didn't lose too much distance to the leaders. I had a few close moments.
"I crashed into some tree at the bottom of the first downhill, and was about fourth or fifth at that point. Not long after that I past Cyril Despres and Juha Salminen and started to close in on the leader, Andreas Lettenbichler. Andi was riding well so it took me a little while to pass him but once I did I pushed really hard to pull away. Last year I was able to take it easy between the difficult sections but this year I was racing at motocross pace everywhere, which was tiring.
"When I knew I was four or five minutes ahead I started to think about taking things carefully. It's so easy to damage your bike so I was picking my lines through the really rocky sections of the track. I'm really, really thrilled to have won."
Results - Erzberg Rodeo, Arena Enduro
1. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM Enduro Factory Team)
2. Andreas Lettenbichler (BMW)
3. Richard Ellwood (Honda)
Results - Erzberg Rodeo, Hare Scramble
1. Taddy Blazusiak (KTM Enduro Factory Team)
2. Andreas Lettenbichler (BMW)
3. Paul Bolton (Honda)
http://www.taddy.pl