The 20th edition of Red Bull Romaniacs just wrapped, after running from July 25 through 29, 2023. Without a doubt, it’s one of the toughest hard enduro events in the world—so while nothing beats winning, just completing it is a kind of victory in itself.
Since it’s a few days after Romaniacs wrapped, you may already have heard that KTM riders swept the podium in 2023. Manuel Lettenbichler took the win, followed by Trystan Hart. Although Husqvarna’s Billy Bolt managed to hold onto third place for the first few days, he was ultimately passed for that third step on the podium by KTM rider Teodor Kabakchiev.
While there’s no shortage of footage recorded by various organizations during Romaniacs each year, it’s Billy Bolt who regularly does a motovlog that takes you behind the scenes. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to ride the way these guys do, it’s some incredibly good insight into the highs and lows of a weeklong event like this.
Gallery: Red Bull Romaniacs 2023 - Billy Bolt
Although the subject only comes up a little bit in this video, keep in mind that Bolt was recovering from a shoulder injury the entire time he was contesting Romaniacs 2023. In fact, that’s a good reason why he wasn’t able to get as much training in to prepare for this event as he would have liked. You can see the shoulder tape a few times in this video, and at the end, he says that while it did feel a bit weak at times, it thankfully didn’t hurt. As a result, he believes he’s ready to get back to a full physical training regime ahead of the next round in Canada.
Even though Bolt wasn’t able to stand on the podium at Romaniacs 2023, he came away feeling as though he’d learned something. He also said that he’ll hopefully be better prepared to tackle it next year based on what he learned.
Finishing a comfortable fourth in this race also gave him enough points to still remain third in the overall 2023 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship standings, which is certainly no small feat. Lettenbichler sits in first place there, with Hart just two points ahead of Bolt. Kabakchiev is six points down on Bolt, and GasGas rider Michael Walkner currently occupies fifth overall.
