The 2nd off-road day at Xross Hard Enduro Rally took riders on a 104 km ride through Mokra Gora. It's seemingly a peaceful mountain, but as it turned out, it had a lot of surprises and hard parts for riders. The first rider through the finish line was Manuel Lettenbichler, absolutely unstoppable on the track and way ahead of all other competitors.
The morning was almost heavenly, as riders got the chance to start the race from Mecavnik - Drvengrad (also known as Kustendorf), a mountain movie village built by Emir Kusturica, a famous Serbian movie director. Kustendorf is also the place of the movie festival. From that magical place, where riders got the chance to enjoy the morning, they started off into the racing. Mokra Gora is a picturesque mountain that seems tame compared to Zlatibor and Tara. However, it seems that it had a lot of surprises. But like in every good movie, you always have some unexpected turns. Riders rode through some tough riverbeds and gnarly downhills, and there was a lot of water splashing around. To sum it up, "Superhard day with some proper off-road tracks for extreme enduro."
It was a long day for riders in all classes, and they came to the finish tired but happy. It was Manuel Lettenbichler who came first to the finish line.
"It was a really day. I am excited and happy that I was the fastest rider today. Today was a very difficult route, with some extremely steep downhills, I almost fell off the bike. After that, there was a riverbed, and the rest of the race was pretty fast. I lost time in the riverbed, and I knew that as soon as it was over, I had to step on the gas because the guys are really fast" - said Lettenbihler.
The second rider just behind him was Teodor Kabakchiev.
"It was pretty extreme today! But congrats to Mani. He held the master class today in the mountains. Immediately after the service point, I took it easy because there was a really, really steep downhill, I crashed, and my bike started sliding down, so I had to get my bike and push again" - said Kabakchiev after coming to the finish line, tired but happy.
Wade Young ended up third and finally managed to catch up with his pace because he is experiencing back pain.
"I am happier than yesterday. I had a good ride. Tried to catch up with these guys and bet they are really, really good. Had to make some small adjustments to my riding style. I am sitting more because of the back pain. One more day, I will try my best" - said Young, who won the Xross twice before.
Leading the first two days, Billy Bolt came smashed to the finish line because the track and hot day in Mokra Gora took a toll on him. Alfredo Gomez was also struggling, but he was amazed by the track.
"The race was amazing, so beautiful. They did a really good job on the tracks, proper off-road" - Gomez said shortly.
It was an enjoyable day for riders in classes EXPERT, HOBBY, and AMATEUR, too. Although they had easier tracks adjusted to their riding level, it seems that it was the right balance between enjoyable and challenging enduro riding. Upon coming through the finish line, you could hear them saying: "What a ride! It was crazy good." Tired, muddy, and sweaty, but with big smiles and extremely happy that they managed to reach the finish. Mission accomplished.
In the overall standing in PRO class, Manuel Lettenbichler took the lead from Billy Bolt, Kabakchiev is on the 2nd, and the GOAT Graham Jarvis is in 3rd place. Who will be the Xross 2022 winner? Remains to be seen after off-road day 3, which takes riders to another ride at Zlatibor mountain.
Cover photo: Zoran Jesic