- Xross Team®
„I came, I rode, I won!“ Those are the words that young Austrian rider Philipp Bertl can use to describe his experience on Tara Mountain and the Xross race because he is the absolute winner after having the best time all three days of the event. Chris Birch from New Zealand came on second, and on third Slovenian Miha Špindler, who won the race last year.
The biggest hard enduro competition in Serbia, the Xross race was held from 10th till 12th of June on Mountain Tara. More than 200 riders from all around the world participated in this event. During three days they had to deal with some offroad and wild landscapes of this harsh mountain beauty, and bad weather with the rain showers made the whole race even harder.
On the first day, the rider had to deal with the Prologue and the rain made the terrain more slippery. On the second day, the riders had to cope with 90 kilometers long track, for classes A and B, and 150 kilometers for classes middle-weight and heavy-weight. The ravines, rocky terrain, extreme uphills, mud, and water are just some of the obstacles that tested the speed, agility, and endurance of the riders. On the third and final day of the race, riders had to ride 30 kilometers long track, which was incredibly hard. They had to deal with overflowing streams, canyons, steep downhills, they had to ride or push their bikes uphills at an angle bigger than 45 degrees. The riders gave the last piece of their strength and pushed their limits in this competition with nature. Even though they were tired and muddy, every single one of them had a huge smile on their face at the finish line.
Philipp Bertl is the name to remember cause there is no doubt that his time is yet to come. This young Austrian is only 25 years old and even though he is on his motorbike since childhood, he has been in hard enduro only since 2013. This capable rider can easily overcome any obstacle, and he is aiming for a top place in the hard enduro world. He was first at the Prologue, the fastest rider on the second day, and the fastest rider at the final of the Xross race.
- It’s my first time in Serbia and at the Xross race and I am happy with the win. All three days were incredibly good, the Prologue was great, it had the logs and stone sections, and it was really good. The second day was a bit harder for me, because I was going first, and I didn’t have any lines to follow, but I managed to be the fastest, and my bike served me well. On the last day, I was more relaxed because I had a few minutes in advance, but it wasn’t easy. The track was really interesting and it had all elements of enduro, hard lines, rivers and streams, uphills, downhills, everything you want at an enduro race. I am coming the next year and I will bring more riders from Austria – said the new Xross champion.
Favorite of the crowd, Chris Birch ended up second, but he is satisfied with his results and charmed by the beauty of Tara.
- It was pretty hard, with lots of slippery rivers and little logs hidden inside the grass, I fell off my bike a couple of times. But I am satisfied with the second place, I needed a bit more energy to pass Bertl, but I wasn’t fast enough. I had a lot of fun here, Tara is beautiful, several times during the race I was so amazed by the view that I wanted to stop and take a picture or just enjoy the view but I had to ride. The organization of the race is really on a high level, I haven’t seen such good track marking in a long time. Hopefully, I will come back next year – says Birch.
The champion from last year, Miha Špindler finished the Xross race in third place, and he thinks that Tara was more challenging this year.
- I am happy with third place, it wasn’t hard. The biggest problem was the length of the track which was 90 kilometers. We were all very tired, but the last day was just fine. On the final day, the hardest part was Miha’s stream, which is actually my stream because I was the only one who manage to cross that river on the bike last year, so the Xross team named it after me. But this year the river was huge because of the rain so I had to push the bike. The organizers have done a good job, I will be glad to come next year – said Špindler.
Ben Hemingway, the rider from England, who was also the first time at the Xross race finished fourth, but his modesty left a huge impression on fans and Xross Team.
- It wasn’t as wet as I thought it will be because of the rain. It’s clear that I have to be faster, but I had a really good time here and I would like to thank the organizers and the audience. The track was great, with many technical details that I love to ride. Rivers, streams, stones, logs, and other obstacles are not the problem for me at all because I used to ride trial, but the fast parts of the track are not good for me. I have to congratulate the organizers on excellent track marking, even though it was my the first time on this mountain I haven’t lost once – said Hemingway.
The third edition of the Xross race justified the expectations of organizers.
- We manage to organize a world-class race in Serbia, on our mountain, which world-renowned riders confirmed with their comments and impressions. Hard enduro has the future in Serbia, but we will need all the help we can get from all institutions and sponsors that helped us so far. Even the riders in Serbia made huge progress when I look back at the first Xross race on Kopaonik, and this one, it’s a completely different event. The riders have much better skills, better bikes, they are familiar with the safety equipment, and before the competition, we even had a coaching clinic with Chris Birch. Now we have the real deal and we have to think really good to see how this event will look like next year – said Nikola Belić, one of the organizers.
RESAULTS
XROSS CHALLENGE
Class A:
Class B:
XROSS TROPHY
Middle-weight class:
Heavy-weight class:
Photo: Predrag Vuckovic
