There is no race in hard enduro quite like the Red Bull Erzberg Rodeo. An open-cast iron ore mine rising out of the Austrian Alps, a 30km course through the Iron Giant, 27 checkpoints, and exactly four hours to get there. Most riders don't. This year, out of 500 starters, only 15 made it to the finish line.
@Sam Strauss / Red Bull Content Pool
Iron Road Prologue
Before you can take on the Iron Giant, you have to earn your place on the start line. The Iron Road Prologue is an approximately 13km time trial on fast, wide gravel roads. It’s full throttle and high speed with no technical sections. Up to 1,500 riders set off across two days, and the 500 fastest secure a spot in Sunday's main race. Your time also determines your starting position, and in a race where the front rows hold a significant advantage, every second counts.
Leading the Plews charge through the prologue was Bert Boam, who put down an impressive time trial performance to qualify P13 overall, the fastest of any of our supported riders on the weekend and well set for a front-row start. Junior World Champion James Moore backed up his reputation with a confident P18 on his very first Erzberg appearance, with Matt Green P26, Will Hoare P27, Mario Roman P30, Charlie Frost P42, Radford Chugg P44, Toby Shaw P51, Richard Moorhouse P57 and Francesc Moret P71. All nine qualified for the main event.
Heading into Sunday, the tyre conversations were just as important as the physical preparation. Mario had settled on The Tough One 140 SuperSoft on the rear paired with the Extreme front. "It's a perfect tyre for these conditions," he explained. "It's gonna be dry and wet at the same time. Some parts are loose rocks, but other parts are super slippery out there in the forest with crazy uphills and wet roots. I'm gonna have the best traction with that tyre. In the front, I like the Extreme for this race because I will have the best traction in the wet downhills and also in the rocks, like the famous section Carl's Dinner."
Charlie Frost ran a Grand Prix front with a Tough One rear for Sunday after a Grand Prix Spec B rear in the prologue that impressed him. "My rear tyre hooked up so well in the wet and the dry. I was a bit apprehensive if it dried out, but yeah, it felt good." Radford Chugg kept the same Extreme front all weekend, "phenomenal tyre, even on the fast stuff, it just stuck in all the corners". Paired with a Tough One rear and a 120 Extreme mousse. Will Hoare was going Extreme front and rear for the rock sections, Bert Boam had the Spec B Extreme drilled out for Sunday, and Matt Green was switching to The Tough One Extreme for the main race, confident it would "hook up nicely and take me to the finish."
The Main Race
Then came Sunday.
500 riders. 30km. 27 checkpoints. Four hours. And at the end of it, just 15 riders crossed the finish line.
Mario Roman — P3
Mario Roman does not come to Erzberg to finish. He comes to win. And while the top step eluded him this time around, a podium finish at one of the hardest races on the planet is a result that demands respect, especially given the conditions and the scale of what this race demands.
@Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool
The start, by his own admission, wasn't pretty. "I tried to take it easy, don't rush in the beginning so much, so I get my flow after a while," he shared afterwards. That patience is the hallmark of an experienced racer and it paid off. Once Mario found his rhythm he moved through the field with controlled precision picking lines, managing effort, and making no mistakes. Zero crashes across the entire race. Smooth, consistent, clinical.
"Super happy," he said at the finish. "Everything went well from the prologue. Racing with the two bikes wasn't easy! It was the first time in my life I had to change clothes every time, change bike. But the main event was really good for me. Zero crashes, riding super smooth. Good traction with the Tough One in the rear, we made a good choice with the soft mousse. Super satisfied."
@Sam Strauss / Red Bull Content Pool
Back on the Erzberg podium.
James Moore — P6
If Mario's podium was the headline, James Moore's result was the story that had everyone talking. Sixth place overall at the Red Bull Erzberg Rodeo, on his very first attempt, in a race where only 15 riders made it to the finish!
"I'm pretty lost for words," he said after crossing the line. "It's different coming to a race that you don't know, especially one as big as this. There's a lot of pressure that comes with it. But luckily, I was just focused on my own ride and didn't feel that pressure too much. I had such a good time out there, rode with some really good riders, and I felt like I was riding my bike really well."
@Philip Platzer / Red Bull Content Pool
Carl's Dinner, one of the most notorious sections on the course and a name that strikes fear into most riders, lived up to every bit of its reputation. "I didn't expect Carl's Dinner to be quite so physical," James admitted. "We ride sections like that during training days but usually at a slower pace. On the way back, especially during the last part, I was pretty pumped up and feeling the effort." What separated James on the day was what he did with that fatigue. "The positive thing was that I was still riding my bike well. Even when I was tired, I was making good decisions and riding cleanly, which isn't always the case for me. So I'm really happy with that."
P6. First attempt. Fifteen finishers. An extraordinary debut on one of the biggest stages in the sport.
Through the Field
Behind the two headline results, the rest of the Plews team pushed deep into the Iron Giant.
Francesc Moret had a strong climb through the field, improving significantly from his P71 prologue to finish P21 in the main race. Toby Shaw, primarily a Super Enduro specialist making his hard enduro mark in 2026 was right behind him in P23, moving up from P51 in the prologue. For a rider whose background is indoor Super Enduro racing rather than the multi-hour grind of a course like this, getting deep enough into the Iron Giant to land P23 is a serious statement of intent. Richard Moorhouse was a similar story, coming from P57 in the prologue to land P24 overall, a meaningful gain on a course that doesn't give positions up easily. Both riders made real progress on a day when most of the field around them were grinding to a halt.
@Philipp Carl Riedl / Red Bull Content Pool
Bert Boam, our fastest prologue rider at P13, finished P37 in the main event. Will Hoare crossed at P65, Radford Chugg P79, and Charlie Frost P128. In a race where the majority of 500 starters never see the final checkpoints, making it deep into the mountain is an achievement in its own right.
Matt Green, A Race Cut Short
The most heartbreaking story of the weekend belonged to Matt Green of Rigo Racing.
Matt had switched to The Tough One Extreme ahead of the main race, was fully prepared, and heading up a hill when disaster hit. A large rock struck the front of the bike with a massive impact, smashing the front end, cutting through the electrical wiring, and denting the forks. He spent a long time trackside trying to get the bike running again. The damage was too severe.
"It's a real shame to end my Erzberg like this," Matt shared. "Luckily it hit the bike and not me, but the impact was massive." Just as the commentators like to say, the mountain writes your story for you. He'll be back.
@Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool
Until Next Year
Ten Plews supported riders lined up at the 2026 Red Bull Erzberg Rodeo. All ten qualified out of up to 1,500 prologue starters. Of the 500 who started the main event, only 15 reached the finish and two of ours were among them. A third was taken out by something entirely outside his control.
Mario Roman is back on the Erzberg podium. James Moore has introduced himself to the Iron Giant in the most emphatic way possible. And for the riders who didn't make the finish line this year, the mountain will be waiting.