Our group followed the progress of our own Homero, who was in the lead pack at the beginning, as well as personal favourites Graffunder and Cuthbertson. The contact with the racers went like this: yell encouragement, hand over a bottle of water and dry gloves, then rush to the next spot.

We got to Checkpoint 17, about 5km from the finish, before the racers, and observed race winner Tadeusz (Taddy) Blazusiak cover a nasty 100m downhill - traverse - uphill sequence in twenty odd minutes, with 3 or 4 minute rests every 25m. Second place rider Doug Lampkin arrived 20 min after Taddy had left, and ran out of energy after about 70m. He laid down next to his bike with his helmet off, and the third place rider roosted him with big rocks as he got by, which knocked Lampkin out completely. The race was stopped for an hour while he was evacuated by helicopter, and the race restarted at that point.

We were silent and helpless observers of the incident, not being equipped or qualified to help - You feel a little stupid while everybody stands around helplessly and the poor guy is out of it just beyond reach. It turned out that Lampkin had two broken fingers, a cut on his head and suffered from dehydration. He was back with his team by eight for the party.

Here I am, about to undertake a seriously-challenging yet manageable descent. The climb back up looked impossible to me despite all the horsepower and torque of this superb Husaberg 570. Were my instincts guided by fear or experience? You decide!

We then went back to the finish to see Graffunder come in an incredible 5th overall on a two year old bike loaned by KTM. This boy is good! Fellow Canadian Shane Cuthbertson finished 90th on his Husaberg, a KTM-owned brand, after crashing and damaging his machine, with fellow Canadian Jared Thomas came in 97th also on a Husaberg.

Race winner by 42 min, Taddy voiced his concern that if World Trials Champion Doug Lampkin, the "Best obstacle rider in the world" according to Taddy, cannot run the course safely, maybe things need to be toned down somewhat for next year. On the other hand, race organiser Thomas Katosh wants to have only one finisher, the winner, so expect an even tougher course next year.

After all this excitement, it was off to KTM Headquarters in Mattighoffen, a two-hour run in our beloved vans. Then a great supper and crash.

Monday, June 15
We visited the main KTM plant and the R&D center, where we saw things that do not exist... KTM spends fully 5% of revenues on development of new models, an incredibly high figure for the industry. It was exciting to meet the designers and developers who create the desirable models - makes me look forward to the coming years. Then it was back to Munich and onto planes for the ride home on Tuesday - and a few hours of rest before going back to making the donuts!

Funny thing happened back in Montreal on Thursday, as I crossed a rocky field and suddenly found myself back on the Mountain.

Kinda grows on you!

Follow the story
Euro Trip - June 8 and 9, Paris
Euro Trip - June 5, 6, 7, Paris
Euro Trip - June 4, Paris
Euro Trip - June 3, Paris
Euro Trip - Six bikes and the Erzberg Rodeo


Photo Credit : Marc Cantin