In what’s been one of the longest off seasons, the start of Extreme XL Lagares in Portugal is now looming large on the horizon. Set to create a little piece of motorcycle sporting history, Portugal will be first to host a round of the inaugural FIM Hard Enduro World Championship. But with a total of eight championship rounds planned, and an ever-growing line-up of riders, manufacturers, and teams competing, it’s going to be a year to remember.
Eight unique and challenging rounds stand between the competitors and the FIM Hard Enduro World Champion crown. Beginning with Extreme XL Lagares, the championships’s first event ensures there’s no finer test to see who’s put in the winter work while whetting our appetite for Hard Enduro once again.
While the race won’t feature spectators it will follow its tried and tested format of challenging riders with some of the toughest terrain seen in Hard Enduro racing. Sunday’s showstopper race is promising lots of new sections and plenty of the slippery, rocky riverbeds that the region is famous for.
From there the series is off to ‘the big one’ – Red Bull Erzbergrodeo in Austria. A Hard Enduro Mecca of sorts, we’re looking forward to the Iron Giant roaring into life once again. With strict public health measures expected to be in place, all eyes will be on Red Bull TV to see who etches their name into Hard Enduro folklore in 2021.
2021 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship calendar
Round 1: Extreme XL Lagares – Portugal, May 7/8/9
Round 2: Red Bull Erzbergrodeo – Austria, June 3/4/5/6
Round 3: Abestone Hard Enduro – Italy, July 10/11
Round 4: Red Bull Romaniacs – Romania, July 27/28/29/30/31
Round 5: Red Bull TKO – USA, August 13/14/15
Round 6: HERO Challenge – Poland, September 11/12
Round 7: Hixpania Hard Enduro – Spain, October 1/2/3
Round 8: GetzenRodeo – Germany, October 29/30
Italy keeps the pace hot with the all-new Abestone Hard Enduro. A new venue and a new format ensure there’ll be a lot of exciting unknowns heading into this one. Located at a Tuscan ski resort with high altitude and June summer heat, it’s sure to deliver its own uniquely Italian challenges.
The incredible Red Bull Romaniacs will of course play a hugely important part in this year’s title race, marking the halfway point in the championship. A good result in the Carpathian Mountains will be critical for those with world championship-winning aspirations. Jumping across the pond, the series will arrive in North America for the iconic Red Bull TKO. Americans (and Canada’s Trystan Hart) have traditionally ruled the roost in Tennessee’s high-humidity boulder gardens, so the pressure will be on to continue their successes on home soil.
Poland sees the series enter the home stretch with the HERO Challenge. The second running of this event will be staged across three days and promises some physically demanding and punishing terrain. Spain’s Hixpania Hard Enduro will then host the penultimate round in the medieval town of Aguilar de Campoo. Boasting some jaw-dropping scenery and brutal Hard Enduro battlegrounds, it’s sure to see another incredible fight for victory.
Signing the season off in style will be Germany’s GetzenRodeo on the final weekend of October. New for 2021 will be a Friday evening prologue. Saturday’s race will see riders put it all on the line with the first ever FIM Hard Enduro World Championship title up for the taking. (source: wess promotion gmbh)
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photos (c) João da Franca & Future7Media/Red Bull Content Pool