2006 Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Race Results Day Five - Dirt Rider Magazine

Red Bull Romaniacs Hard Enduro Ralley: Day 5On the fifth day of competition the riders passed through one of the less populated but most beautiful parts of the country. This monster day should separate the wheat from the chaff. While Michel Gau (FRA) crossed the finish line in first position after 09:41 hours, the last rider in the pro class finished more than five hours later at 9:30 p.m.Michel Gau, the winner of the last two legs won again on the 5th day. After his third victory and this long tour he was glad to have finished this very, very long day stating, "We had ten hours of motor biking, but there was not anything very, very hard. We left at six in the morning and arrived at 4.30. Great landscapes and a hard race!"Since Cyril Despres was knocked out of the race due to an injured arm, it has been clear that there will be a new winner at the Red Bull Romaniacs this year. It will likely be another Frenchman on top of the podium - Michel Gau, the French semi-professional who grows plants for a living. Giovanni Sala is already more than 30 minutes behind Gau in second place. It is still Alex Antor and the two South Africans, Curtis and van Niekerk, who follow the two dominant pro riders in this 3rd annual Romaniacs.Riding up the high peaks of the region between Baile Herculane and Petrosani, the participants reached plateaus which gave a marvellous view over the valleys and green mountains, home to herds of wild horses and cows. So it was not unusual to see riders stop to let a shepherd and his sheep and dogs pass by or encountering a farmer waving in astonishment. At some points the scenery might even have been a little bizarre: at an open valley with a river running through, the riders had to cross the river while at the same time a group of local people were washing their clothes and carpets. Nobody felt disturbed by the other's work - the Red Bull Romaniacs brings together tradition and extreme sports.A hard day's work for the riders of all four classes took them over more than 250 almost idyllic kilometres (roughly 155 miles). When walking through the paddock after the race, the feelings of the participants was unanimous: today was the most beautiful stage, but also a hard and extremely long one. The only lady in the expert class, Lisi Mucha from Austria, riding with her team mate Thomas Flbl, could only laugh about her broken index finger on her left hand from a crash within her first hour of riding.A smiling Francois Vulliet of team Motoverde I said "I think I lost about four kilos today, because of the exhausting and long route and the hot weather, but the landscape compensated for everything!". The first three teams - KTM Romania, Motoverd I and Motothek KTM - are quite close together and tomorrow the last off-road stage might decide who finishes on the podium.Result, Day 5 (unofficial)
Pro
1. Michel Gau (FRA)
2. Giovanni Sala (ITA)
3. Alex Antor (AND)
4. Riaan van Niekerk (RSA)
5. Darryl Curtis (RSA)
Correction of the results of day 4 in the Pro class (due to time adjustments)
1. Michel Gau (FRA)
2. Giovanni Sala (ITA)
3. Alex Antor (AND)
4. Darryl Curtis (RSA)
5. Riaan van Niekerk (RSA)
6. Michael Angerer (AUT)
7. Stefan Mller (GER)
8. Dominic Finnis (RSA)
9. Kevin Miller (USA)
10. Craig Stone (RSA)