Graham Jarvis was the fastest on the first day of Red Bull Romaniacs. The Husqvarna man pulled gallons to get rid of his rivals in the more technical areas.
Today’s outing took the participants to the mountainous Olt Valley which, with the good weather, the lakes and the colors of autumn, offered a spectacular landscape. For Graham Jarvis (GBR / Husqvana), who finished with the best time, it couldn’t have been better. Jarvis said before the time trial qualifications: “I think I still have speed, but I don’t know if my body will be able to last more than five days. It has been a problem that I have felt in recent years, as I am now 45 years and my body is not the same, as for the physical form, I am in top form.
He seemed determined to do everything in his power to get back on the podium at Red Bull Romaniacs; With six titles to his credit and having had to accept third position last year after losing his GPS near the finish line and navigating the latter part of the race from experience and intuition, his ambition this year is to win.
Jarvis finished yesterday’s time trial in fourth position and the fight at the top appeared to be between Wade Young and Manuel Lettenbichler. But the King of the Carpathians didn’t want to be ruled out just yet. Billy Bolt (GBR / Husqvarna) was the first out today, followed by Alfredo Gómez (ESP / Husqvarna), Wade Young (ZAF / Sherco), Graham Jarvis (GBR / Husqvana) and Manuel Lettenbichler (DEU / KTM). The fast tracks initially allowed the favorites to form a group and they were together for most of the day, almost encouraging each other to push harder, neither rider could outshine the other.
Alfredo Gómez lost contact with the leading group due to some problems with the bike, which were only solved once he reached the service point. In addition, he hit a tree with his shoulder and the water tank behind him fell off, making it even more difficult for him to finish the day in a good position. The four leading drivers went through the controls only a few seconds apart and reached the service point together where Taddy Blazusiak (POL / GasGas) caught up with them.
Despite all the technical sections and almost impossible to overcome areas like Olt Up, Sheepfarmer, Martin’s Idea or the daunting Titanic, no one managed to separate them decisively like Graham Jarvis, who passed Gomez and Young and was able to regain the advantage. of 7 minutes that Bolt had at the beginning.
Jarvis finished the day after 5 hours 14 minutes and 49 seconds, with the best time, and leads the general classification with only 42 seconds of advantage over Manuel Lettenbichler and 4 minutes and 20 seconds over Wade Young. Bolt, Gómez and Mario Roman remain a strong force to be reckoned with and hope to catch up with Jarvis in the next 3 days.
The second day of Red Bull Romaniacs moves to the county of Alba, where the participants will have to travel 110 kilometers. The riders will be on the tour for about 5 hours and the weather is expected to be perfect again.
Results:
www.redbullromaniacs.com/results/2020/
