Mani Lettenbichler extends his lead after winning the 2024 Sea To Sky Hard Enduro
KTM and German rider, Manuel “Mani” Lettenbichler has continued their winning streak, after taking the chequered flag at the famous Sea to Sky Hard Enduro in Turkey. This win takes Mani’s lead on the FIM Hard Enduro Championship standings up by 17 points from his closest rival, Wade Young.
Action began on the beach on Thursday, with a short series of motos used to decide the start order for Friday’s Forest Race. Despite there being no championship points on offer for the Beach Race, Mani still pushed hard on the Turkish sand, much to the delight of the passionate fans. Finishing as runner-up behind Billy Bolt, Mani secured a second-place start to Day 2’s Forest Race.
“Nearly five hours of racing was so, so long. This morning, I didn’t even know if I would be able to ride after hurting my wrist yesterday. I was definitely worried and going into the race I just wanted to ride as safely as I could – trying to save energy, trying to save my body,” said the 26-year-old German rider. “Reaching the finish up here with a win felt really good, and now I can look ahead to the final round of the season in Spain.”
Held as a qualifier for Saturday’s Mountain Race, the Sea To Sky Forest Race still posed a sizeable challenge to all competitors with its mixture of terrain and technical sections. The 45-kilometer loop, ridden as a time trial, led riders through the forests and rocky tracks near Kemer for close to two hours of hard enduro.
Setting off 30 seconds behind Bolt, Mani soon settled into a good rhythm on his KTM 300 EXC. After taking an early lead, Mani dropped down to second halfway through the race when a crash slowed his progress. Despite some pain in his right thumb and wrist, he held on to second through to the chequered flag, where he secured two important championship points, and his second-place start position for Saturday’s Mountain Race.
Setting off from the shore, the infamous Mountain Race at Sea To Sky boasts a finish line well over 2,000 meters above sea level at the summit of Olympos Mountain. After making a strong start and leading to the first two checkpoints, Mani soon found himself in a four-way battle for the lead.
Times were incredibly tight early on with just seconds separating the riders. As the race climbed out of the forest area and the terrain became tougher, the gaps started to widen, with Mani coming into his own on the steep, rocky slopes of the mountain.
Breaking away from his chasing rivals, the defending world champion rode clear to ultimately cross the finish line 13 minutes clear of his nearest rival. Marking his first-ever Sea To Sky win, he also secured his fifth FIM HEWC victory of the season.
