After a brief hiatus , the Erzberg Rodeo returned in all its glory for 2022 with 1200 riders attempting to be the first to the top of the Iron Giant . While a KTM rider taking the title is no unusual thing , KTM ’ s Manuel Lettenbichler rode into the history books with victory in the 26th edition of Austria ’ s iconic Red Bull Erzbergrodeo . With his father Andreas achieving the same feat in 2015 , the Lettenbichler ’ s are the only father and son to win the iconic Hard Enduro event . After a three-year wait since the last edition in 2019 , amateurs and professionals alike made the pilgrimage to the four-day festival in Austria that draws tens of thousands of fans . Riders had four hours to complete the course made up of 27 arduous checkpoints and , in one of the toughest editions ever , Lettenbichler battled against the mountain and runner-up Mario Roman of Spain for two hours and 58 minutes - the only rider to finish under three hours . Hitting the front of the race soon after the start , Lettenbichler maintained his lead right through to the chequered flag , securing his first ever win at the iconic Austrian event . His victory at Erzberg marked his second consecutive FIM Hard Enduro World Championship race win of 2022 following victory in Serbia last month , which was his first international outing of the year after a lengthy lay-off following knee surgery . “ When I cleared Lazy Noon [ checkpoint 26 ], I was like , ‘ oh man , how sick is this ’,” Lettenbichler said . “ Literally , the last push wasn ’ t too difficult , and it was an unbelievable feeling . I ’ m over the moon . It means so much that both my dad and I have won this race . Not many people will do that , it ’ s such a cool story .” Lettenbichler ’ s win wasn ’ t without challenges , as he struggled through checkpoint 22 , named ‘ Highway ’, paving the way for Mario Roman to