- Xross Team®
One of the best hard enduro riders in the world, Chris Birch from New Zealand, will compete at the third Xross Challenge race which will be held from 10. till 12. June in Tara mountain. This motorcycle addict is considered one of the most capable, bravest, and toughest riders in the world. He is the current and eight times New Zealand Enduro overall champion, three-time Roof of Africa winner, he has been on the podium seven times at Red Bull Romaniacs, including winning it in 2010. Under his wheels remained races such as Erzbergrodeo, Red Bull Last Man Standing, Hell’s Gate, and many others, so there is no doubt that Birch knows how to cope with the harsh nature and to push his limits. Before Xross Challenge at Tara, he will do a coaching clinic in Belgrade (we will post more about this later), and till then you can read this exclusive interview we did with him.
Considering the fact that you grew up in a family of motorcycle riders, you started to ride early. What is that attracted you to extreme enduro and what do you like the most about this sport?
I was actually a late starter to extreme enduro, I didn’t find out about it until I was 27 when I saw a YouTube clip of Red Bull Romaniacs. I liked the adventure and challenge it provided and that’s what I like about extreme enduro.
The Roof of Africa, Red Bull Romaniacs, Hell’s Gate, Erzbergrodeo are just some of the races you’ve competed in. Can you choose the hardest one?
Red Bull Romaniacs in 2010 and the Roof of Africa in 2009 are the two hardest things I have ever done. They were both really hard and very long events. The opening day of Red Bull Romaniacs took out nearly all the pro class, it was over 10 hours of riding. Those races made the Dakar Rally look like a walk to the park.
Having in mind how difficult and tough these races are, just finishing them is a great job, but you even won some of them and not once, but multiple times. So what’s the feeling standing on the top podium?
It’s a combination of lots of emotions, relief being a big one! I think the strongest memories of podiums I have are when I came third in Red Bull Romaniacs the first time out, it felt like everything in my life had led to that moment. Also when I won the Roof of Africa in 2009 was a huge moment for me as it was my first international win and I did it as a privateer with a bunch of good boys helping me out.
Do you have some kind of ritual before the race, maybe listening to a favorite song or something like that?
Like any racer, there are multiple trips to the bathroom before every race ha-ha. I also have a mental preparation routine I run through in my mind before a race to get myself focused and switched on, if my daughter is at the race I always spend time with her before the race to remind myself what’s important.
How do you prepare for races? Is your training different depending on which race you are going or is it always the same regime?
It’s always different, I need to keep things different to keep my interest. I do a lot of mountain biking as I love it and it doesn’t feel like training.
Besides the physical, mental strength is very important. How do you motivate yourself during the hard moments at the race?
I have never been a quitter so that’s not an issue, but to keep myself focused I talk out loud to myself and sing sometimes as well, that’s one of the reasons I don’t use a helmet camera!
When speaking about the hard moments it must have been a lot of them, but can you share with us some particularly hard and extreme situations you’ve been in and how did you overcome them?
Probably the most extreme or life-threatening experience I have had whilst racing was in a race from one side of Panama to the other. There was a big storm in the mountains and I had to cross two very swollen rivers. One was up to my shoulders at the deepest part, I got washed downstream quite away but was able to keep one hand on the bike, and with a bit of swimming and a lot of dragging I made it to the other side. I’ve always been my own mechanic so I knew how to get the bike going again, it takes me seven minutes to get the water out and that won me the race. It wasn’t until afterward that I thought how close I came to drowning.
You also have coaching clinics. Is it hard to balance between all the competing, traveling around the world, preparations, and coaching?
When you throw in being a husband and a father yes it can be hard. It is basically impossible to earn a living racing enduro in New Zealand and doing extreme races in Europe has always cost me more than I make in prize money so the coaching has been really important for me to support my family. That is why I have not been doing as much racing since Zoe was born as the coaching has had to take priority.
Do you have advice for rookies in hard enduro, what is the first thing they need to learn?
Crikey, that’s a hard one. You need experience so you can make good decisions, spend lots of time on the bike in the mountains and learn your craft.
Will this be your first time in Serbia? Any thoughts and expectations from Xross Challenge?
Yes, my first time in Serbia, I’m looking forward to seeing a bit of the country, everyone I have met from Serbia has been good. I’m hoping for a great two days of hard enduro racing.
