The FIM Hard Enduro 2023 World Championship ended this weekend in Greissbach (Germany) with the GetzenRodeo 24MX, where the Rieju Factory Team was represented by Alfredo Gómez and Éric Miquel.
Once again the competition was followed by thousands of spectators who came to watch the various races, which mainly in the forest area were tough and very technical, where the riders had to work hard to reach the finish.
On Friday morning the practice sessions were held, while in the afternoon the Timed Hard Enduro was held first, a qualifying race where Gómez finished in 19th position and Miquel in 22nd, although there were only 16 places available for the prologue of the Red Bull Double Trouble in the evening.
Saturday morning's GetzenRace, which lasted two hours, was used to qualify the 20 best riders for the final. In this race, the rain in the evening made the race even more difficult. All the participants would start at the same time, in line, which meant that on the first complicated climb, a bottleneck was quickly formed and some of the riders lost a lot of time. This was not the case for Alfredo Gómez, who set a high race pace from the start, to finish in sixth place in this first qualifying race.
For his part, Éric Miquel started off quite well, but when he reached the first steep climb he found himself in the middle of a rut, luckily he overcame it and set a good pace throughout the race, overtaking several riders and without making any mistakes, he managed to finish in 18th position, which allowed him to compete in the final.
An hour later, the final race, GetzenChamp of 80 minutes plus one lap, was held, fighting again in the forest, although with the course upside down, with stones, roots and steep climbs, all very slippery. Alfredo started off quite well, very close to the leading group, in sixth position, although he quickly moved up to fourth place, setting a good pace, until in the area called Jokerlane, with great technical difficulty, he lost time and positions by having to help another PRO rider to overcome this area, from there he kept pushing to finish in sixth place overall.
In this second race and final, due to its hardness, Éric Miquel was not at 100%, despite this, he did his best to get an outstanding fifth position among the Juniors, while in the overall scratch he finished 17th.
With GetzenRodeo completed, the FIM Hard Enduro 2023 World Championship comes to an end, where Alfredo Gómez, after competing in the six qualifying rounds and in his first year with Rieju, finished the season in ninth scratch position. In the FIM Hard Enduro Junior World Championship, Éric Miquel, in his first season in the World Championship, finished in an outstanding seventh position.
Alfredo Gómez:
"The main race went quite well, I started sixth and overtaking I got fourth, but when I got to the Jokerlane I lost a bit of time, as we had to help each other with another rider to get over it. Then I kept the pace I have, which for now is between fourth and eighth, it was a really technical race, I think finishing sixth is good. Nothing, we have to keep working to place higher, so happy in my first year with the Rieju and let's see next year."
Eric Miquel:
"On Friday we started with some practice and in the afternoon the prologue in which I finished 22nd. On Saturday morning in the GetzenRace, with a very slippery terrain, after the start, in the first steep climb there was a bit of a clog and I lost a lot of time, then I escaped and I could achieve a good pace, climbing positions, overcoming the finish line in 18th position, goal achieved.
The final race, GetzenChamp, which was held an hour after the previous one, the difficulty increased, so it cost me more physically, I was not so well, because of this I could not give my 100%, but I fought and managed to finish the race in the 5th position of Junior and 17th overall.
I am very happy to have been able to reach the final and be with the best riders in the world. The race was very hard and intense, but I really enjoyed it, with a very dedicated crowd cheering us on in all the sections".
