'Red Bull Sea to Sky': Top Riders all present
125 riders from 19 countries have come to the Turkish Riviera to join a race whose popularity has grown fast. Almost the entire elite of this sport shows up in Turkey to compete: Graham Jarvis, Paul Bolton, Jonny Walker, Andreas Lettenbichler, Alfredo Gómez Cantero and Xavi Galindo to mention a few. Also the 12x Trial World Champion Dougie Lampkin decided to try 'Red Bull Sea to Sky' for the first time: "I’ve heard a lot of great things about this race and I’ve watched all the videos from last year. I’m looking forward to giving it a go."
While the general concept has remained by doing three different races, Red Bull Sea to Sky has stretched from two to three racing days. In this years edition, each of the three races is getting a dedicated day at the most enjoyable Extreme Enduro race.
Beach Race
Starting off with the Beach Race on Friday, September 27, not only the Extreme Enduro enthusiasts – who have come from all over the world to support their heroes – will get some great motorsport entertainment, but also the tourists of the town of Kemer will be surprised by the speed, skills and courage of the race that is done right at the beach of Kemer. Situated at the beautiful Turkish Riviera, Kemer has become a preferred place for tourists and Extreme Enduro riders.
This year the format of the Beach Race has also changed slightly: In two qualification heats the fastest 75% of the riders will get the chance to advance into the finals. The Beach Race is a fenced round circuit similar to a motocross track with sandy soil, jumps, obstacles and a high speed straight section going along the waterfront. Event though for the majority of the Extreme Enduro riders the Beach Race is a fun thing to do they will be ambitious because the results of the Beach Race determine the starting order of the Forest Race. And since it hasn't been raining for a while are expecting quite a bit of dust in the Forest Race.
Martin Freinademetz: "We believe that we managed to hit this fine line between ridable and pushing."
Forest Race
After the Beach Race on Sept. 28 the riders will dive into the woods behind Kemer to ride some really cool single trails and gravel roads. We have listened to the feedback of the riders and this year the Forest Race will be a little bit easier but longer than last year. For the vast majority of the riders it will be a really enjoyable track. The Forest Race track is about 37km and the top riders are expected to get to the finish in about one hour.
Mountain Race
Starting at the beach the main event of Red Bull Sea to Sky will take the riders all the way from "Sea to Sky" on Sept. 29. It will be more demanding than last years edition, especially for the riders who are going for the Gold Medal – which is earned by those riders who are making it to the Red Bull finish arch on the peak of the Olympos Mountain at an altitude of 2,365m. The Silver Medal is given to those riders who are making it up to the tree line at about 1,700m. The bronze medal can be taken home by those who make it through the river bed into the forest and up to about 1,100m. So there will be a reward for the majority of the starters who come prepared and with the skills required. 
The podium 2012: Paul Bolton (l), Graham Jarvis (m) and Jonny Walker (r).
After the start at the beach, the riders will go through a long and rather fast riverbed, which is a little easier than last year. Therefore the finish for the bronze medal has been pushed about 3km more compared with the 2012 edition. Also the silver finish has been extended. All in all there are five new sections to make sure that also returning rides have additional fun.
A new section called "Dark Canyon" has been designed to take even the international elite of Extreme Enduro to their limits. But still, Martin Freinademetz – XVENTURE's and Red Bull Romaniacs mastermind – is confident that even this section will not hold them back: "Especially the Dark Canyon required a lot of track preparation. It took the Kemer Enduro Club about 40 days to make it ridable and it's a tough one, even for the top riders. But we believe that we managed to hit this fine line between ridable and pushing. The maximum riding time in the Mountain Race is 6 hours and considering the new sections we're expecting the top riders to finish within two hours." (source: 'red bull sea to sky' – media service)
LINK: Live time keeping on redbullseatosky.com
IG.G-STORY: Alfredo Gómez Cantero: "Ich bin bereit!" (23. September 2013)