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Erzberg Rodeo

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They call the Erzberg Rodeo the toughest single-day event in motorcycle racing — we’re inclined to agree. For the 2013 edition of the hard-enduro race, 1,500 riders entered to compete, 500 qualified on Saturday to the main event, and come Sunday’s race, only 14 finished.

Battling against the added challenge of the rain this year, Erzberg riders also had an even tougher time than usual with the giant hill of mud that leads out of the quarry pit, and onto the other more technical 20 other checkpoints of hell. The one great thing about the race though, it makes for great video…especially in slow-motion with all the water, mud, and tears.

There is nothing about the Erzberg Rodeo that appeals to me, other than the fact that it is totally bonkers, awesome, and horrible all rolled into one single-day event (there’s a reason this site is called Asphalt & Rubber).

Any race where 1,500 riders start, 500 qualify, and only 14 finish, has got to be an epic competition, and considering the fact that the Erzberg Rodeo starts in the excavation pit of an Austrian mine…well, it takes a special rider to be enticed by such an event.

One such special rider is Graham Jarvis, who was the first of the fourteen men to reach the 20th and final checkpoint. Taking 2 hours and 52 seconds to complete the course, Jarvis made the 2013 Erzberg Rodeo look downright easy.

However, with one look at the race-day conditions from this past weekend, we know it was anything but. Take a look for yourself after the jump — race results are here.

At over to 5,000 miles long, and with 14 days of competition, the 2013 Dakar Rally may be the most grueling event you can race on a motorcycle. But what about the most grueling single-day race? That honor would have to go to the Red Bull Hare Scamble at the Erzberg Rodeo. An enduro event like no other, the 2012 edition saw 500+ competitors at the starting line, but only seven actually finish the race.

An active open-air iron mine the rest of the year, the “Iron Giant” hosts some of the most determined enduro and trials riders in the world each year. A test of bike control, navigation, stamina, and a bit of luck, we imagine you will be tired simply after watching the hour-long video that is waiting for you beyond the jump. As for The Dakar? Imagine something like this for two weeks straight and you would be in the right ballpark.

I imagine that for some, despite the business case to the contrary, a Husqvarna should always play well in the dirt, which seems to be the mantra with the folks over at Touratech. Taking Husky’s first true-born road bike, and baptizing it with mud, the Touratech Nuda-X-Cross looks perfectly capable going where the sidewalk ends.

Shod with a set of knobbies, some purpose-built bodywork from Touratech’s line, and a new attitude, we dig what the ADV-touring parts company has done with Swedish brand’s latest offering. Not just a looker, Touratech intends on racing two Touratech Nuda-X-Cross bikes in the grueling Erzberg Rodeo, held in the Austrian Alps. Even that makes our street-bound hearts skip a beat. More photos after the jump.