The best Hard Enduro riders in the world will be back to take on the Red Bull Tennessee Knockout at the Trials Training Center on August 11-14. The TKO is round six of the eight-round FIM Hard Enduro World Championship and the top North American riders will be aiming to mix it up with the HEWC regulars. To add to the excitement, the weekend will kick off with a head-to-head Straight Rhythm challenge in downtown Nashville on Thursday, August 11th.
“Last year we got to see an epic battle with Billy Bolt edging out Mani Lettenbichler for the win and Trystan Hart proving that the North American riders can compete on the World stage,” said Eric Peronnard, the TKO co-producer. “It will be great to have all the top riders back at the TKO and the Red Bull Straight Rhythm Enduro event with the top men and women facing off on Broadway Street will be a great way to showcase Hard Enduro to new fans.”
The Red Bull Straight Rhythm Enduro challenge will take place on Broadway Street in downtown Nashville. Sixteen men and four women riders will race head-to-head in pairs in a best two out of three bracket elimination format. The Straight Rhythm Enduro challenge racing is scheduled from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm and will be free for spectators.
The TKO will then kick off at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee with the amateur class prologue qualifying on Friday and two rounds of amateur class racing on Saturday to determine the AMA Grand Championships for Extreme Off-Road racing. The top 30 amateur riders will also earn a chance to compete with the pre-qualified pro riders on Sunday. Sunday will include four rounds of racing for the pro riders.
There are still entries available for the Saturday amateur classes, including the new ECR eMoto electric motorcycle and Youth Lites 12-15 classes. Click here to enter: https://secure.tracksideprereg.com/tko/index.asp
And see the right sidebar for 3 POV videos (38 minutes each) of the Final Knockout race by winner Billy Bolt, 2nd place finisher Manuel Lettenbichler, and 3rd place finisher Trystan Hart.
Billy Bolt (center) took the 2021 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout win in his first-ever trip to the US. Lettenbichler (left) and Trystan Hart rounded out the podium with strong rides in a stacked field of the best hard-enduro riders in the world. Photo: Future7Media
Billy Bolt finished just two seconds ahead of Manuel Lettenbichler to take the win at the Red Bull Tennessee Knockout at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee. The Rockstar Husqvarna rider from the UK was impressive in his first-ever race in the United States but Germany’s Lettenbichler pushed him all the way to the finish on his Red Bull KTM. Canadian Trystan Hart rounded out the podium on his FMF KTM Racing ride. The event served as round five of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship (HEWC) and also served as the AMA Grand Championship for Extreme Off-Road racing so world championship points were earned and an AMA number one plate.
In addition to the pro racing, the Red Bull Tennessee Knockout crowned amateur champions. Saturday included two rounds of amateur racing with race two serving as the championship-deciding race. During that second race, Jared Lambe earned the number one spot with a winning time of one hour, fifteen minutes, and thirty-seven seconds on his KTM. Tobin Miller finished just four seconds behind on a Beta for second and Sherco rider Jackson Davis rounded out the top three. The top thirty riders also earned the opportunity to compete with the thirty-two pre-qualified pro and riders that included ten of the HEWC riders.
New for 2021, there was a Red Bull Straight Rhythm Prologue event to give the top 24 riders an opportunity to earn a spot in a 16 rider bracket race. Bolt and Taddy Blazusiak worked their way to the final round to face off for the win, which ultimately went to Bolt. Bolt was impressive with a skip over a large log pile helping him to take the win. This allowed him to pick his starting spot for the Sunday morning Hot Lap and earn an extra $1000.
Sunday’s format consisted of four rounds of racing for the sixty riders that earned a spot and it started with the Hot Lap on a 1.5 mile “short course”. Lettenbichler set the fastest time with a 6:06.10 lap time. Bolt was second just 1.9 seconds behind and Hart was third with Jonny Walker and Blazusiak rounded out the top five.
The sixty riders moved on to Knock Out round one, which used an 18-mile “long-course” and only the top twenty-five riders would move on to the next round. Lettenbichler led the field that started in thirty-second intervals. Bolt managed to close the gap to Lettenbichler and finish right behind him but set the fastest elapsed time of fifty-five minutes and thirty-one seconds. Lettenbichler was just 14 seconds back on time for second place. Hart was again impressive with a third-place finish but was nearly two minutes behind Bolt. Pennsylvania’s Ryder LeBlond put in an impressive rider for fourth place and Cody Webb rounded out the top five.
There was a last-chance qualification race among the four riders that just missed the cut and Arizona’s James Flynn took that spot to be the last rider to make it to the second round.
That second round places the riders into five groups (four groups of five and one group of six that included the LCQ winner Flynn). Those groups would be racing another loop on the “long-course” with some additional difficult sections added. They were just racing among their respective groups for the top three spots to earn one of the fifteen spots in the main event. Bolt won group one ahead of Spain’s Alfredo Gomez and Australian Will Riordan. Lettenbichler won group two over Magna1 Husqvarna’s Jordan Ashburn, who is a Tennessee native, and GasGas rider Michael Walkner, who is from Austria. Canada’s Hart won group three ahead of Spain’s Mario Roman and Bulgarian Teodor Kabakchiev. Wade Young from South Africa won group four ahead of Pennsylvania’s Leblond and Ohio’s Nick Fahringer. And in the final group, Beta’s Jonny Walker from the UK edged out Webb with Canada’s Cory Graffunder taking the final spot in the main.
The main event was back onto the short course with a 30-minute plus one lap race, which ended up taking thirty-seven minutes and thirty seconds to complete. Bolt and Lettenbichler battled back and forth for all six laps with the two of them exchanging the lead after mistakes on the difficult course. Each rider made mistakes and handed over the lead but neither rider managed to open a gap. Lettenbichler made the last mistake on the final lap to allow Bolt to get ahead of him and they entered the finish straight, which included several logs nose to tail. Lettenbichler made a push to the finish that resulted in a crash as he crossed the finish line. The two Hard Enduro stars embraced on the track in celebration of the great battle.
Hart rode the entire race in third place and closed the gap a few times but never got close enough to challenge the top two, He instead had to worry about Sherco’s Wade Young, who pressured him throughout the main event and nearly passed him for the final podium spot on the last lap when Hart did not make it up a waterfall section. Hart recovered to hold on for third with Young fourth.
Roman and Gomez battled for fifth and sixth throughout the race with Roman taking the spot.
Walker and Webb had an equally exciting battle for eighth and ninth with Walker getting the upper hand when Webb did not make it up a tough uphill on the final lap.
LeBlond didn’t get the start he needed and had to fight back for a ninth-place finish on his Dullulo Racing Team Husqvarna. Teodor Kabakchiev rounded out the top ten.
Ashburn finished eleventh. Walner was twelfth, Riordan finished thirteenth, Fahringer was fourteenth and Graffunder finished fifteenth.
“It was hard work, the first and second races were harder than I expected,” Bolt said. “I finished the first one and thought, oh, this is going to be a long day. Then we had another long race before the main event. The main event is a little different than many hard enduros but I enjoyed it and if you look around, you can see that none of us have anything left so it is harder than it sounds. I enjoyed my first race here in the US.”
“The pace was really high today. In the main, Billy and I got a good start with Billy right behind me. I think everyone got super tired at the end,” Lettenbichler said. “It was really nice to race in front of the American fans. That finish was a bit crazy as I was trying to whip it a little bit at the finish and turned into a pretty big high side but we put on a good show for the fans here. I will need to beat Billy at the next one in Poland to hopefully get some more points back on him.”
“I am actually probably happier about this podium than I was with the win last year,” Hart said. “This field was so stacked so to get a podium among these riders was great. I got third off the start and those first two just sprinted so hard that I lost some time but then I was able to ride a really strong race until the last lap when I didn’t make it up a waterfall and had to turn around and try again. I could see that Wade (Young) was right there so it was close.”
The Women’s classes had a total of eleven amateur riders and three pro riders. The amateur women competed along with the Saturday Amateur race one and Samantha McLeod took the win on her Yamaha and qualified to move on to race two. Mesa Lange finished second on a KTM ahead of fellow KTM rider Stephanie Daniels.
The Women’s pro class competed along with the top amateurs on the more difficult race two and KTM rider Shelby Turner took the win over Sherco’s Louise Forsley and Georgia Eversol on a KTM. Turner took the AMA Grand Championship number one plate and impressively finished seventeenth overall among all the amateur riders.
2021 Red Bull Tennessee, Knockout Main Event Results
Billy Bolt, Husqvarna
Manuel Lettenbichler, KTM
Trystan Hart, KTM
Wade Young, Sherco
Mario Roman, Sherco
Alfredo Gomez, Husqvarna
Jonny Walker, Beta
Cody Webb, Sherco
Ryder LeBlond, Husqvarna
Teodor Kabakchiev, Husqvarna
Jordan Ashburn, Husqvarna
Michael Walkner, GasGas
Will Riordan, KTM
Nick Fahringer, Sherco
Cory Graffunder, Husqvanra
The 2021 TKO will again be featured on Red Bull TV with more details to be announced.
The sprint format of the TKO final suited Bolt’s strengths. Photo: Future7MediaManuel Lettenbichler managed to hang onto a small lead over Bolt in the FIM Hard Enduro world championship with a second place. Photo: Future7MediaCanadian Trystan Hart was the top North American rider at the 2021 TKO. The defending champion put in a strong ride among a world class field. Photo: Future7MediaWade Young and his Sherco teammate Mario Roman finished fourth and fifth at the TKO. Photo: Future7Media
Saturday afternoon featured a Prologue Straight Rhythm event for the pro men and pro-women riders. The selected riders competed in quick out and back head-to-head races in a best two out of three bracket format to earn some extra purse money and determine the Sunday morning hot lap starting positions.
For the first time ever, all the top hard enduro riders from around the world will compete against the best North American riders on US soil. The Trials Training Center in Sequatchie Tennessee will host round five of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship (HEWC) this coming weekend, August 13-15.
The Red Bull Tennessee Knockout (TKO), now in its eleventh year, has become one of the premier off-road motorcycle races in the US and serves as the AMA Grand Championship for Extreme Off-Road racing. Many of the top international riders have competed in the TKO in the past, but this will be the first time that they will all be competing at the same time and competing for World Championship points.
The TKO has used the same format since the first event in 2011, which pre-qualifies the top riders to a four-round knockout format on Sunday. Saturday will have over 400 riders competing in two rounds of racing with the second race serving as the AMA Amateur Grand Championship for Extreme Off-Road. The top 30 riders from Saturday earn the opportunity to compete with the best riders on Sunday.
“Unlike some extreme or hard enduro events that run for several hours, we chose to use a multi-round format for the TKO to keep the racing tight,” said Eric Peronnard, the co-producer of the TKO. “The pro riders compete four times on Sunday and race for over three hours, but the final results all come down to a final multi-lap race with the top fifteen riders on a challenging course, so it is very intense racing for the riders and exciting for the fans.” Peronnard also added, “We have to thank Winfried Kerschhaggl, the FIM, and AMA for all of their effort to make it possible to make the Red Bull Tennessee Knockout part of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship in very difficult times for international travel.”
Below is a rundown of the long list of riders that have a shot at competing for the podium spots at the 2021 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout.
Manuel “Mani” Lettenbichler – Germany – KTM: The 2019 World Enduro Super Series (Now the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship) champion just came off his third straight Red Bull Romaniacs win to take over the points lead. Mani competed finished second at the 2018 TKO and then came back to win it in 2019.
Trystan Hart – Canada – KTM: Hart won the 2020 TKO and was promoted to the FMF KTM factory team for the 2020 AMA EnduroCross championship, where he took his first career main event win and finished third in the championship. Hart also won the AMA East Extreme Enduro and combined East/West championship with a win at the final round.
Billy Bolt- Great Britain – Husqvarna: Bolt won the 2019 FIM Super Enduro World championship and won the Abestone FIM Hard Enduro round in Italy. He comes into round five second in the championship and his Super Enduro skills could prove useful in the intense TKO main event. This will be the Rockstar Husqvarna rider’s first time competing in the US.
Cody Webb – United States – Sherco: Webb is a six-time TKO winner (2013 to 2018), three-time AMA EnduroCross champion, and former FIM Super Enduro World champion. Before that, he was the US Trials champion and knows the Trials Training Center terrain very well. Don’t count him out for a seventh TKO win.
Taddy Blazusiak – Poland – GasGas: Taddy burst onto the hard enduro scene by winning the Red Bull Erzberg Rodeo in his first attempt. He was competing in the World Trials championship at the time and transitioned to hard enduro and went on to win five straight AMA EnduroCross championships and six FIM Super Enduro championships to go along with five Erzeberg wins.
Ryder LeBlond – United States – Husqvarna: Ryder LeBlond will likely be the rider most of the HEWC riders will be taking notice of. The teenager from Pennsylvania has earned multiple podium finishes in AMA Extreme events over the past couple of seasons and just finished third in the AMA Extreme Championship riding as a Husqvarna support rider on the Dullulo racing team.
Wade Young – South Africa – Sherco: Wade Young has won the Roof of Africa hard enduro multiple times and proven himself on the world stage with wins at the Red Bull Romaniacs (2018) among others. He has competed at the TKO three times with two podium finishes.
Jonny Walker – Great Britain – Beta: Walker has won most of the major hard enduro events including Erzberg Rodeo wins in 2012, 2013, and 2015. He also won the 2015 Red Bull Romaniacs. He competed at the 2015 TKO and finished a close second. He has joined the factory Beta team for 2021.
Mario Roman – Spain – Sherco: Roman has become one of the top hard enduro racers in the world with major wins at Extreme XL Lagares, Roof of Africa, Hells Gate, and more. The Sherco factory rider has also finished on the podium all three times he has competed including a second to Lettenbichler in 2019.
Pat Smage – United States – Sherco: Smage is an eleven-time AMA Trials champion that has only competed at a handful of hard enduro events. But with a lot of experience at the Trials Training Center, the Wisconsin native could prove to be a threat for a top result.
Max Gerston – United States – GasGas: The Arizona native is a veteran racer that still enjoys riding like a teenager. He is a multi-time AMA East Hare Scrambles champion, former AMA EnduroCross junior champion, and multi-time podium finisher in AMA EnduroCross.
Alfredo Gomez – Spain – Husqvarna: A two-time winner of the Red Bull Erzberg Rodeo, Gomez has cemented himself as one of the top extreme riders in the world.
Keith Curtis – United States – Sherco: Curtis is a multi-time snowmobile champion that loves to race hard enduro during the summer. A win at the 2019 Stix and Stones hard enduro combined with other top finishes, including a fifth at the 2020 TKO earned him a part-time ride with the FactoryOne Sherco team.
Ryan Sipes – United States – GasGas: The former supercross winner has made a name for himself by competing in and winning races in multiple disciplines, including American Flat Track and hill climbing. Sipes will be in the deep end again at the TKO but deserves credit for taking the plunge.
Jordan Ashburn – Unites States – Husqvarna: The Tennessee native competed at the first TKO in 2011 and has been back many times since despite being focused on racing the AMA Grand National Cross Country championship (GNCC). He has earned podium finishes at hard enduro events before and earned more fans at the 2020 TKO by competing on his dad’s 1989 KDX 200 and making it to the main event for an eleventh place finish.
Nick Fahringer – United States – Sherco: Fahringer is a former top AMA Enduro racer that transitioned to extreme enduro events in recent years. He prefers the longer events but has the skills to get into the TKO main event even in this year’s stacked field.
Cooper Abbott – United States – KTM: Abbott has been honing his racing skills under the watchful eye of his multi-time champion father Destry and had a breakout 2020 EnduroCross season, where he earned a moto win and overall podium and finished the season fourth in points.
Michael Walkner – Austria – GasGas: Walkner is relatively new to the hard enduro championship but is quickly proving he belongs with a ninth-place finish at the 2021 Red Bull Romaniacs.
Teodor Kabakchiev – Bulgaria – Husqvarna: Kabakchiev won the 2019 FIM Super Enduro junior championship and is making a name for himself on the hard enduro tour. He is entering the TKO in tenth place in the Hard Enduro World Championship.
The podium positions will likely come from the above list of riders, but the TKO has been a breakout event for relatively unknown riders to earn a spot in the fifteen-rider main event. That will be more difficult than ever with ten of the top HEWC riders competing, but it will be exciting to see if one of those lesser-known riders can add their name to that list.
New for 2021, Saturday afternoon will include a Prologue Straight Rhythm event for the pro men and pro-women riders. The selected riders will compete in quick out and back head-to-head races in a best two out of three bracket format to earn some extra purse money and determine the Sunday morning hot lap starting positions.
The 2021 TKO will again be featured on Red Bull TV with more details to be announced.
Mani Lettenbichler will come into the TKO as a favorite. He won the 2019 TKO and just won his third consecutive Red Bull Romaniacs. Photo: Future7MediaTrystan Hart is the defending TKO champion but he will have a large field of the best hard-enduro riders in the world to take on for 2021. Photo: Future7MediaBilly Bolt is an exciting rider to watch and the TKO format may fit his style well. Photo: Future7MediaCody Webb has won six Red Bull Tennessee Knockout events against many of the best riders in the world. He will be aiming to defend his home turf and take TKO win number seven. Photo: Future7MediaPoland’s Taddy Blazusiak is one of the most decorated hard enduro riders in the world and is hungry for another win on US soil. Photo: Future7Media
The ninth annual Kenda Tennessee Knockout took place at the Trials Training Center, in Sequatchie, Tennessee, on the weekend of August 16-18. We have full video highlights from the grueling Sunday pro competition where Germany’s Manuel Lettenbichler (@m_letti304) earned the TKO title over Spain’s Mario Roman (@marioroman74) and South Africa’s Wade Young (@wadeyoung55). American Colton Haaker (@coltonhaaker) and Canada’s Trystan Hart (@trystanhart_84) rounded out the top five.
The 2019 Tennessee Knockout had nearly 400 entries and the amateur riders competed in a Friday prologue and had two races on Saturday. The top 30 amateur riders earned the opportunity to compete with the 27 pre-qualified pro riders on Sunday. Sunday uses a four-round Knockout format that starts with a Hot Lap to set starting positions. The first Knockout round, on a 19-mile course, cuts the field of riders down to 25 and an LCQ earns a final transfer spot for one additional rider. Those remaining 26 riders compete for the final 15 spots in the main event with another loop on the 19-mile course with some more difficult sections added. The main event is a 30-minute plus one lap battle on a mile-long course. In total, the fastest rider, Manual Lettenbichler, raced for nearly three hours.
Manuel Lettenbichler (@m_letti304) has had an amazing 2019 season of Extreme Enduro racing. The twenty-one-year-old German dominated the Kenda Tennessee Knockout on his KTM 300 XCW TPI. This was just a few weeks after winning the four-day-long Red Bull Romaniacs, to go along with a runner-up finish at the Erzberg Rodeo. Sherco-backed Mario Roman (@marioroman74), from Spain, put up a good fight but settled for second in his third straight podium finish at the TKO. Fellow Sherco rider, Wade Young (@wadeyoung55), from South Africa, rounded out the podium.
Manuel Lettenbichler (center), won the 2019 Kenda Tennessee Knockout over Mario Roman (left) and Wade Young. Photo: Larry Mayo
The ninth annual Kenda Tennessee Knockout had almost 400 entries that started with a prologue to set the starting positions on Friday, followed by two rounds of racing for Amateur riders on Saturday. The top thirty of those amateur riders earned a spot in Sunday’s racing, which also included twenty-seven pre-qualified pro riders. Nate Smith won the Saturday morning race. Seventeen-year-old Ryder LeBlond took the Amateur win over Smith and Jarrett Mohn to earn the AMA Amateur Extreme Enduro Grand National Championship and move forward to Sunday.
Lettenbichler had a nearly flawless day at the 2019 Kenda Tennessee Knockout. Photo Larry Mayo
Sunday includes four rounds of racing for the fifty-nine riders and starts with a Hot Lap on a mile-long “short course”. Lettenbichler set the fastest time with a 4:26 lap. Roman was second with a 4:32 followed by Rockstar Husqvarna’s Colton Haaker with a 4:43 and Young rounded out the top five with a 4:47 time.
Mario Roman battled with his Sherco teammate to take second at the TKO. Photo: Larry Mayo
Knockout round one takes place on a nineteen-mile long loop with the top twenty-five riders moving on to the next round. The riders take off in thirty-second intervals and race against the clock. Lettenbichler again set the fastest time of 1:01:28. Haaker was second fastest with a time of 1:03:49. Roman was third at 1:04:55. Am-Pro Yamaha’s Ricky Russell showed impressive speed with a fourth-place finish in 1:05:07. Trail Jesters KTM’s Ben Kelley rounded out the top five with a time of 1:05:53.
Wade Young had a solid day to round out the podium at the 2019 Tennessee Knockout. Photo: Larry Mayo
Knockout round two switches from a race against the clock to a head-to-head format with four groups of five riders and one group of six after a twenty-sixth rider earned a spot in the next round after out-dueling three other riders in the last chance qualifier. In this round, those five groups would be competing for the fifteen spots in the final by finishing in the top three in their respective groups. This was back on the nineteen-mile long course with a few more challenging sections added in. Lettenbichler won group one over Trystan Hart and Liam Draper. Haaker won group two over Grant Baylor and Ronnie Commo. Roman won group three over Beta’s Max Gerston and Nick Fahringer. Young won group four over Russell and Quinn Wentzel. Kelley won group five over Nate Smith and Mitch Carvolth. Smith had raced both races on Saturday and still managed to earn one of the coveted spots in the main event. Notably, Young had the fastest time during round two at 1:06:29 to serve notice that he may have the speed to challenge for the win.
The main event moved back to the short course with a 30-minute plus one lap battle, which ended up taking Lettenbichler 37:10 to complete. “Letti” jumped out to the early lead and managed to maintain it for the entire race, which ended up being 8 laps. The battle for second included Young, Haaker, and Roman in the early laps. Roman passed Haaker and then he and Young battled back and forth for a couple of laps before Roman was able to work his way into second. In the end, Roman was unable to make much of an impact on Lettenbichler’s lead and ultimately finished nearly two minutes back. Young dropped back to nearly four minutes behind the winner. Haaker held on for fourth place but went a lap down. Hart recovered from a pretty big crash to round out the top five.
Kelley finished in sixth position on his KTM. Russell finished seventh on a Yamaha YZ250X. Gerston was eighth on a Beta. Baylor finished ninth on a KTM and Commo rounded out the top ten on a KTM.
Lettenbichler had finished a close second to six-time TKO champion Cody Webb at the 2018 event and he used that experience to win in 2019. “It is a completely different kind of format than I normally race. You race four times during the day with high intensity. And the main event is so difficult because the pace is so high. I liked the loops but it is much hotter and more humidity than I am used to from home so it makes it very challenging. I was happy to have a comfy lead at the end of the final race so I could back off a little.”
Roman finished third in the 2017 and 2018 TKO events and improved to second this year. “I think I am getting more experience year by year in this race. This is a special kind of race because you have a couple of hours in the morning just to qualify and then the main one is thirty minutes with high intensity and high humidity. I didn’t have time to prepare much because we just came from Romaniacs. Letti was no mistakes and he was gone after I battle with Colton and Wade in the beginning but I am happy to improve and have a good result with the help of Sherco USA.”
Young had a pretty serious foot injury that forced the defending Romiacs champion to pull out of this year’s event. But he was here in the USA for his third attempt at the TKO. “I didn’t feel so well on the bike this morning since I just got back on the bike when I arrived in the USA. But by the third round, I was starting to feel really good but when the final came around, my fitness was not so good due to my time off the bike. So I was not able to battle for the win but overall, I am happy, I would have liked to battle for first but this was the best I could do with the time off.
The Women’s class had a total of 14 riders that tried to earn a spot in the main event by completing the morning race within the two and a half-hour time limit and ten of those riders moved forward to the main with three of the women finishing within the top forty overall among the 242 riders. Beta’s Rachel Gutish took her third TKO win with a dominant performance. Shelby Turner and Nicole Bradford both had minor mishaps in the first few corners that put them behind but they rebounded to finish second and third respectively.
The FMF/Maxxis/RPM KTM Racing Team (@rpmracingteam) has confirmed that Trystan Hart (@trystanhart_84) and Spenser Wilton (@spenserwilton17) will be racing at the 2019 Kenda Tennessee Knockout. The two Canadian riders are among the top Extreme racers in North America and will be expected to earn top finishes at the TKO. The ninth annual TKO will take place at the Trials Training Center, in Sequatchie Tennessee on the weekend of August 16-18.
Trystan Hart was the top placed North American rider at the 2019 Erzberg Hare Scramble and is capable of contending for the TKO win. Photo: Drew RuizTrystan Hart. Photo by Drew Ruiz
Hart is the 2018 AMA Western Hare Scrambles champion and has been one of the top EnduroCross riders for the past couple of years. 2017 was Hart’s best season so far as he finished second overall to Cody Webb in the AMA EnduroCross championship and earned the junior class championship for riders twenty-one and under. He started the 2018 EnduroCross season off strong, including a last-lap pass on Cody Webb at the California event to steal second place but unfortunately suffered a wrist injury that took him out of the remainder of the season. Hart was the top North American rider at the 2019 Erzberg Hare Scramble in fourteenth place so don’t be surprised to see him competing for the TKO win.
Spenser Wilton has been climbing the ranks among the top off-road racers in North America and won the WORCS Pro 2 light championship in 2018. Photo: Drew RuizSpenser Wilton. photo by Drew Ruiz
Wilton won the 2018 WORCS Pro 2 lights championship on his RPM KTM. The youngster has several top finishes in major US and Canadian off-road events to his credit already and will be aiming to use the experience gained in his first TKO appearance last year to move further up in the standings.
FMF KTM’s Cody Webb (@codywebb2), the six-time winner of the Kenda Tennessee Knockout, will miss the 2019 TKO while he recovers from a knee injury. But the FMF KTM (@ktmfactoryracing) team will be well-represented with Ben Kelley (@benkelley530) riding his Trail Jesters KTM Racing Team (@trailjesters) mount. The team will also host Manuel Lettenbichler (@m_letti304), the young German rider that finished second at the 2018 TKO. Both riders will be competing on 300 XC-W TPI two-strokes when the ninth annual TKO invades the Trials Training Center on August 16-18.
Ben Kelley has dominated the GNCC XC2 class for the past two seasons but is also strong at Extreme Enduro Events.Ben Kelley will be aiming for his first TKO podium finish.
Kelley was the surprise of the 2016 TKO when he earned a spot in Sunday’s competition by winning the Saturday amateur race. He then finished a strong fourth in Sunday’s main against a stacked field of better-known riders. He went on to join the Trail Jesters KTM team and won the 2018 GNCC XC2 championship and is currently undefeated in the 2019 title chase. It would not be a surprise to see the youngster from Connecticut win at the 2019 TKO.
Manny Lettenbichler finished second at his first TKO in 2018. He just won the 2019 Red Bull Romaniacs to go along with a win at the Machette Hard Enduro in the Dominican Republic and a runner up finish at the 2019 Erzberg Rodeo.Manny Lettenbichler finished second at the 2018 TKO.
Manuel Lettenbichler is one of the stars of international Extreme Enduro racing. The twenty-one-year-old German has learned a lot from his father, Andreas, who was one of the pioneers of Extreme Enduro competition. “Manny” has several major wins and podium finishes to his credit, including a win at the 2019 Red Bull Romaniacs to go along with a win at the Machete Hard Enduro in the Dominican Republic and a second-place finish at this year’s Erzberg Rodeo. Lettenbichler finished second to Webb in 2018 so he will be one to watch.
Beta USA (@betausa) has confirmed that three of their team riders will be competing at the 2019 Kenda Tennessee Knockout. Max Gerston (@maxgerston) will be competing in the men’s pro class while Rachel Gutish (@rachel_gutfish) and Morgan Tanke (@mtanke31) will be competing in the Women’s class. The TKO has become the premier American Extreme Enduro and will serve as the AMA Grand Championship for Extreme Enduro competition. The ninth annual TKO will take place at the Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee on August 16-18.
Gerston is a longtime Beta USA factory rider that has won the AMA West Hare Scrambles championship to go along with several top finishes in EnduroCross and major Extreme Enduro events. His best TKO finish so far is a fourth place so he will be anxious to earn a podium finish in 2019.
Gutish has won the AOMC Women’s class at the TKO two times in the past in addition to multiple EnduroCross main event wins and is a regular top finisher in GNCC and other off-road events. She will be facing the largest Women’s field yet as there are already sixteen women entered for 2019.
Tanke has also been a longtime Beta team rider and has multiple EnduroCross main event wins to her credit along with a win at the 2017 TKO in the Women’s class. The Riverside, California native has proven her versatility with top finishes in several types of races.
Rockstar Husqvarna Factory Racing (@rockstarhusky)-backed Colton Haaker (@coltonhaaker), is a two-time and current AMA EnduroCross champion and also a two-time and current FIM Super Enduro Champion. He has a huge following due to his amazing motorcycle skills regularly shared via social media and in his Rare Exception movie released earlier this year. Haaker has also won the King of the Motos to prove that he can be competitive outdoors as well but has yet to finish on the podium at his six previous attempts at the TKO. He will be looking to change that when the 2019 edition takes place at the Trials Training Center on August 16-18.
“I am looking forward to the TKO this year,” said Colton Haaker. “With Cody Webb unable to attend, I feel like I might actually have a chance at winning. I’m going to give it all I’ve got”.
Several top American and International riders are again expected to compete at the 2019 TKO. More riders will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
