In doing so ticked-off one enormous racing achievement in Red Bull Romaniacs 2018, Wade Young wins it all and set the record for the youngest winner of the event.
The 22-year-old Sherco Factory Racing rider Wade Young spots up the bright lights in Round four of the World Enduro Super Series. Contending up with his rivalry Manuel Lettenbichler in the mountains of Romania, Young expressed his biggest victory of his career from the tough and demanding courses throughout the event.
Congratulations Wade on winning this demanding event, how does it feel to have won the 15th edition 2018 Red Bull Romaniacs?
Wade Young said: “Thanks. This [race] is perhaps the toughest Enduro race around so I’m really stoked on the win. It’s hugely a demanding event. It’s five days on a bike and you get pushed to your complete physical limitation. I’ve been trying for a while now to get it done and finally the trophy is mine. But thanks also go to my whole Sherco Factory Racing team, my mechanic and family and friends who’ve kept me going all week.”
Were you nervous about entering the final day having only a small four-minute lead?
“I felt like I was locked in all week and knew that I could do it. But also, Manuel Lettenbichler was riding too great that makes you strive even more. He was fast on the up hills but I managed to reel him in on the downhills and flowing sections of the course. It went like that for the whole day right until the last couple of checkpoints. I knew then it was now or never and I just gave it everything I had. I rode at maximum attack for the final 20 kilometres.”
What did you felt entering the final hillclimb in Gusterita, knowing you’d done enough to win?
“I could hear people cheering and the atmosphere was just pumping. I always feel nervous when I pass on the final hill climb because it’s so steep and easy to make a mistake. With the gap being so close, crashing there could have lost me the entire race. I wanted to celebrate but held back until the finish line and then once I passed the chequered flag the enormity of it all hit me. It was an unreal moment in in my career.”
Were there any other highlights for you during the Red Bull Romaniacs aside from winning the race?
“Perhaps the service point on off road day three. That’s where the hardest to climb in the race and I managed to pull a gap on the guys. Up until then the climbs were not my strongest asset and to just get it right and build a small lead felt awesome. It was a little victory in itself.”
You’ve had multiple podium results in Romania and now a win, what is it about the Red Bull Romaniacs that suits your style of riding?
“It requires you to dig deep and that’s something I can do when the going gets tough. I feel like I showed that this week — there were some gnarly days for sure. I think it’s the long days — it’s not just all about technique. Somewhere like the Erzbergrodeo relies a lot on technique and trials riding, where for me Red Bull Romaniacs is a pure form of Enduro riding. It’s man and machine against the elements for as long as it takes each day. It’s the toughest and most physically demanding Enduro race in the world.”
