DIRT NEWS
Lettenbichler immediately set the tone for the week ahead. On Thursday’ s Offroad Day 2, Mani once again led from the front. As the first half of the event’ s marathon stage – where no outside assistance is allowed – it placed extra demands on both rider and machine. Navigating steep climbs, treacherous forest descents, and fast open sections with signature precision, he extended his overall lead with a second consecutive day win. With two stages remaining, momentum was clearly on his side. Friday saw a spirited battle at the front between Mani and close rival Billy Bolt. Lettenbichler rode tactically, pushing where it counted while staying in control. Making the minimum of mistakes and conserving energy in the hot conditions, the German crossed the line in second place, just over three minutes down on Bolt, maintaining his overall race lead and keeping reserves in the tank for day four. Saturday brought the final test, 102km of classic Romaniacs terrain including the infamous final hillclimb and one last chance for Mani to stamp his authority on the race. Rising to the challenge, he powered through, ultimately clearing the hills and man-made obstacles in style to take his third stage win of the week, securing the overall victory and his sixth career Romaniacs title. Mani said,“ This feels unreal. My team deserve this win just as much as me. I had some doubts at the beginning of the week, purely because I haven’ t been able to train as much as I would have liked coming into this event. I felt under quite a lot of pressure this year. The pace was super high from everyone, and the conditions and heat here in Romania only added to the challenge. I kept my cool all week though, opened up a bit of an advantage on day one, and was able to maintain that to the finish. This has definitely been one of the toughest Romaniacs I have ridden. I think if the weather hadn’ t been so dry, the race could have been very different. It’ s amazing to take six wins here now, I just need one more to equal Graham, so you can be sure I’ ll be back next year to try again.”
92 KIWI RIDER