More than 10,000 fans witnessed local hero Rory Mead ride to victory at the Red Bull City Scramble – a new and unique event in Auckland, New Zealand. On May 31 an entire city block was transformed into a technical and challenging enduro track that pushed man and machine to the limits.
At the Red Bull City Scramble in Auckland, New Zealand, on May 31 Rory Mead stayed in front of the pack and dominated the final from the start. As other competitors tangled at the first and second obstacles, Mead got a good break from the pack and never looked back. Crowd favourite Chris Birch (NZ) rode hard to gain back time on Mead’s early lead but had to settle for second. German rider Andreas Lettenbichler was just behind Birch taking third.
"So it looks as if I’m off to Erzberg. I only rode this event in Auckland for a bit of fun. I didn’t expect this," said stunned Mead afterwards, the enormity of his win slowly sinking in. On June 14 Mead will accompany Chris Birch as a wild card entry in the Erzberg Rodeo in Eisenerz, Austria, which is known as the toughest enduro race in the world. Birch is back to compete at the Erzberg after an impressive eighth place last year from a field of 1500 riders with only 27 who reached the finish line.
At the Red Bull City Scramble Birch was philosophical in defeat. "I achieved what I set out to do, bringing my sport to mainstream New Zealand. I didn’t win but, in a way, I still did. Enduro racing is typically carried out a long way from any population base. Today was very different. I was just too tired to make a race of it with Rory; in the end I pushed hard to catch up but ran out of energy."
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