James Dent: My first Erzberg adventure!
By Team TMX on 14th Jun 18
Not many riders would pick the iconic ErzbergRodeo as their first crack at hard enduro, right?
But thats exactly what Cumbrian James Dent did recently in Austria where he swapped the British Enduro Championship for a weekend taking on the Iron Giant. James has been competing in the BEC since 2011 with varying degrees of success and in 2015 was part of Britains Junior ISDE team which took home fifth overall in Slovakia. In fact, James was 11th best Junior at the end of the competition!
Moving forward to 2017 and James landed a deal with MRS Sherco to again complete a full year in the BEC. It wasnt the best of years for James as issues away from racing affected his results but he stuck with it and his family, friends, long-standing girlfriend Leanne (the bread-winner) and everyone at MRS Sherco were there for him to give him the support he needed.
I felt Id hit the lowest point in my racing career and needed some fresh motivation and new goals to keep me going and give me something to strive for, explains James. Competing at Erzberg has always been the dream for me and I felt this would ether make or break me in terms of whether I would keep on riding or pull the plug.
"Dont get me wrong, Im very lucky to be able to compete doing what I love but I have always watched the extreme guys and thought, Yeah thats what I want to do. I was always really inspired to go to Erzberg as a kid from watching Nitro Circus 2 and seeing David Knight and how people from all over the globe go to see how close to the finish they can get.
I never really thought I was good enough to go and have an attempt at a finish but thats where I was so wrong about the event in general as almost everyone there is going to see how far they can get in terms of checkpoints. And I dont think you can ever be truly ready for this event. It really is its own event.
So he paid for his entry and was ready put the hours of training in needed for Erzberg as the demands are so harsh on your body. This is where James Burroughs who runs Bodyclinic UK was a major help and put James on a special programme to get him up to Erzberg fitness.
James with good friend Jack Cadwallander
James gave me a specific training and conditioning programme to try and get me as ready as possible for the big event and wed also change things to suit what I was doing ether at the time racing-wise or with injuries and weaknesses on the track.
With having to do a full working week its always hard to fit training in so I decided if I went before work there was no excuse and this worked really well. It was a gruelling six months but knowing Id put 100 per cent in come race day it gave me confidence to relax knowing Id done everything I could in preparation.
On arrival in Austria me, my best mate Mattie Wright and my old man Mikey D fell silent as in the last few miles of the journey as you can see the Iron Giant standing above everything else nearby. You really cant understand how big this thing is without experiencing it in person its truly amazing.
Race day soon came round after a week of walking sections in the baking heat and after completing two qualification rounds gave me a starting position of 63rd from around 1,800 riders of which only 500 make the main race.
We were all fairly beat up from the prep we did leading up to the event as we had a British enduro the weekend before heading out to Austria. The Main event saw me get starting on the second row start which worked out quite well really as it gave time for the front runners to get away and there werent too many queues.
I had a fairly clear run through but the whole four hours was just a big blur with crazy-sized hill climbs and stupid descents basically designed to break people and find their limit. I reached checkpoint 19 out of 25 and for me completing Carls Dinner was huge as after walking this section earlier in the week I was baffled as to how I would manage it.
The feelings and emotions you go through in that section alone are something else. I had Mattie and my dad walking me through it as line-spotters and pretty much making sure I didnt quit as things got pretty tough.
I cant thank those guys, my family, girlfriend and everyone else at home enough. The support was amazing and I believe with more training and support one day Ill finish that crazy race.
But in the meantime I will have to get the credit card out as my next trip will be the Red Bull Sea to Sky in September I cant wait!
Here are just a few of the people and companies who helped James make his dream a reality Malcolm Rathmell Sport, Bodyclinic UK, Amped MX Graphics, Rock Oil, Paul Butterworth, Stefan Butterworth, Gowan Construction and Stuart Smith. If you want to help James out in any way you can contact him at jdr_157@hotmail.co.uk.
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