Red Bull Romaniacs, Day 3: Kabakchiev pulls off a daring ride to finish ahead of Lettenbichler

After Teo Kabakchiev had underperformed on the second day, he went on the attack on the third and attempted to take time off the leader, Manuel Lettenbichler. He succeeded – even if, at the end of a Friday in the Carpathians that was as long as it was fast, it amounted to just 53 seconds. Still, not many can claim to have beaten Lettenbichler in the stage classification at the Romaniacs.

The rider from Kiefersfelden put in his usual commanding performance – even though he lost control of his bike during a downhill section in the LIVEmaniacs section, causing him to lose his KTM’s headlight and visor. It was precisely this section that drew criticism – Martin Freinademetz and his team had gone a bit overboard with the route design there. This was also evident from the fact that Freinademetz briefly helped James Moore there. And this despite the fact that this section was also a ‘no-help zone’, meaning that any outside assistance is normally prohibited. Riders are only allowed to help one another. However, when the race director steps in, it is to ensure safety.

After the race, Freinademetz admitted: “In our sport, the line between easy and excessively difficult is often a very fine one. Finding the right balance for both the world’s elite and the rest of the field is a challenge. On this descent, it would certainly have been better to set out the course slightly differently.”

Lettenbichler can draw level with Jarvis

In the overall standings, Lettenbichler still has a comfortable lead of just under 19 minutes over the Bulgarian Kabakchiev. The world champion’s focus on the final day (Saturday) will therefore be on avoiding mistakes and securing victory. Should he manage that, he would claim his seventh victory at the Romaniacs and draw level with record-holder Graham Jarvis. The 51-year-old legend crossed the finish line in 13th place on his Jarv-E, an electrically powered prototype of his own brand, just under 1.5 hours behind.

In the Adventure Ultimate class, Spaniard Pol Tarrés (Yamaha) won the day’s stage by a narrow margin of 4 seconds ahead of his compatriot and overall leader Mario Roman (CF Moto). With a lead of a good five minutes, Roman will approach the final day in a controlled manner to secure overall victory.

Teo Kabakchiev: “That was a typical Romaniacs day – really tough. The two climbs before the service point were particularly gruelling. I knew Manuel would ride it all cleanly, so I focused on not making any mistakes. I managed that, so I’m very happy with how the day went. We battled hard against each other for the lead. On Saturday, the action will take place around Sibiu and I’ll be giving it my all again.”

It was said to be a rather short day.

Lettenbichler after 7 hours of riding

Manuel Lettenbichler: “Although it was initially said to be a fairly short day, we were out and about for almost 7 hours in total. It was another very fast day and I had to really push hard because I knew Teo is strong on this kind of terrain. The descent in the LIVEmaniacs section was ridiculously dangerous, and I told Martin Freinademetz that too. If we top riders are having real trouble with it, then I can only imagine what it’s like for the other 20 riders in the Gold class who have to ride it as well.”

Red Bull Romaniacs results, Off-road Day 3:

Overall standings after Day 3: