Ever felt like embarking on a challenge but didn’t know a good place to start. Take a look at this list of the six toughest Enduro tests out there and understand that you’re better off staying right where you are...
Red Bull Romaniacs
For Enduro riders who like to spend the majority of a race pushing their bike, there’s no better place to be than in Sibiu when September rolls around. That’s because every year Sibiu, in the heart of Transylvania, plays host to Red Bull Romaniacs.
Two-time Dakar Rally winner Cyril Despres has described the four-stage event as “nothing less than the toughest Enduro race in the world” while 2009 Romaniacs winner Andreas Littenbicher said he was “happy but destroyed” when he crossed the finish line.
The riders do not have much time to enjoy the race’s lush surroundings as they focus on avoiding cavernous potholes, quarries of loose rock, gnarled tree roots, boulders the size of houses and the Cibin River.
The four stages range from 100 to 200km in length and leave even the most hardened riders begging for mercy as the event reaches its climax. Back in 2007, Frenchman Michel Gau broke his arm on the last stage of the race while more than half those competing fail to complete the course.
“From a fitness point of view, Red Bull Romaniacs is even more challenging than the Dakar,” explains event organiser Martin Freinademetz. “Nobody could handle the strain of this race for longer than four days.”
Red Bull Los Andes
Two hundred riders contest the ear-popping 60km Red Bull Los Andes race which takes place 2,600 metres above sea level in the Chilean mountains in late November.
The one-day event consists of two 30km laps which test even the most experienced riders in the field to the absolute limit of their capabilities. The course itself is kept a secret from the riders until the morning of the race, presumably to protect the competitors from sleepless nights in the build-up.
Although the exact route is kept under lock and key, there are still a few certainties from which the riders know there will be no escaping. The course will take the field up hellish climbs, through sapping dunes and will force the riders through the white water rapids of mountain streams.
The race is particularly dear to Chaleco Lopez as it is contested in his native Chile – he has recently signed a contract to ride with Aprilia in the next two editions of the Daker Rally.
Roof Of Africa
The Roof of Africa race in Lesotho is growing from strength to strength. The three-day race to be crowned the ‘Mother of Hardenduro’ attracts riders from around 15 countries and five continents.
Last year’s event saw a meagre 89 competitors finish the race out of a starting field of 300. Red Bull’s Chris Birch was the winner, trouncing the opposition on the vertical climbs and down the 90 degree descends on his KTM standard 300cc machine.
Birchy, who came home 48 minutes and 37 seconds ahead of his closest challenger, said after nearly 16 hours in the saddle over three days: “The terrain is absolutely amazing and the best off-road conditions I have seen anywhere. The last day was really tough with ‘Donkey-Pass’ and ‘Lucky-Pass’ sapping the last strength and energy out of your body.”
BMW rider Gerhard Forster was not so lucky last time around – he was surprisingly unable to complete the race after ripping the ligaments in his left upper arm.
Red Bull Don Quixote
This giant Enduro race sees 500 pairs of seasoned pros and fresh-faced amateurs compete over the challenging landscape of La Mancha, Spain.
Miguel de Cervantes’ 17th century tale tells the story of brave Don Quixote as he navigates the tricky paths of La Mancha. This modern day equivalent of the Don’s trials and tribulations sees riders tackle a 50km obstacle-strewn course in four stages.
The likes of current world champion Ivan Carvantes and Dakar Rally champions Marc Coma and Nani Roma are among the top Enduro riders saddling up this year on the quest of Don Quixote
As well as bouncing off the windmills made famous by Don Quixote’s tale, the riders can expect some tricky rocky climbs jutting out from the unforgiving landscape of La Mancha.
With Spain enjoying its Moto X at the moment thanks in no small part to Ivan Cervantes, more than 5,000 Enduro fans are expected to make their way to La Mancha to watch this year’s event (29th November).
Dakar Rally
The common consensus among the riders who embarked on this South American journey at the start of this year was that the Dakar’s relocation has made the race a whole lot tougher.
Such is the intensity of the 16-day event that anyone hoping to complete the race will already be well into their preparations. One of the official recommendations for the riders is that they embark on an Olympic-esque fitness regime, involving hours in the weight rooms and jogging at altitude. Maybe it's better they stick to fresh fruit shakes rather than tucking into turkey on 25th December this year.
To give you a better idea of the strain the riders are put under during Dakar we should get the view of Dr Johannes Peil, who is working alongside the Red Bull VW team ahead of the race.
The Good Doctor explains: “The high-altitude training offers several positive aspects to the athletes. For one, it automatically results in a higher specific cardiovascular strain and thus raises the individual’s performance capacity. For the other, our programme is designed to be easy on joints and muscles.”
To make sure the riders don’t get complacent ahead of the Dakar, last year’s route has been reversed with the stages through the Atacama Desert coming a lot earlier on. What hasn’t changed, however, are the two dizzy crossings of The Andes and the lonely miles of the Argentine Pampas.
Due to its magnitude, it is very difficult to match the Dakar Rally as an Enduro event. Of course, having the toughest terrain to match the distance doesn’t hurt its status as the world’s most difficult race to complete.
OzBus London to Sydney
For sure, riding a bike for days on end through the roughest conditions imaginable is tough. But, for people with a true endurance fetish surely the preferred mode of transport is a bus.
The beauty of bus travel has to be leaning into the window to avoid the pungent body odour in the air and lifting your feet to dodge whatever fluids may be lapping around on the floor. Aside from the cramped conditions on the bus, you may also be lucky enough to wait an hour in sub-zero temperatures before your magnificent carriage even arrives.
Well, for anyone who gets their buzz from a bus, we have found the perfect endurance challenge for you... How does London to Sydney sound?
Take your seat for 92 days of blissful bus travel as you pass through 17 countries and 3 continents, all the while trying to nudge past the person next to you to sneak a look at the Taj Mahal, the Himalayas and Ayers Rock.
But, the ride on OzBus’ 53-seater is not just plain endurance, there’s a fair share of danger thrown in as well. Marvel at the delights of the boarding crossings between Turkey and Iran, Pakistan and India as well as Nepal and Tibet.
For one special day you will tick off 350 miles of the total 15,000-mile trip without stopping as you move along the bandit covered roads between Pakistan and Iran.
So if you’re after an endurance challenge and simply cannot be bothered with all the altitude training to participate in Dakar then why not get your kicks on Route 666?
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