The premiere of Hell’s Ride Hard Enduro makes a big statement with its new, revolutionary event format and delivers an event in a class of its own!
First of four laps: After starting in third place, Michi Walkner takes the lead before the first difficult section and begins to pull away, finishing the opening lap with an incredible 3:13-minute lead over Dieter Rudolf. In third place is 17-year-old Lorenz Steinkellner, just under 8 minutes behind.
Second lap: Dieter Rudolf briefly reduced the gap to Michi Walkner to 2:38 minutes, but by the end it had grown again to just over 3 minutes (3:19). Lorenz Steinkellner remains third, now already 14:01 minutes behind. At the halfway point, the expected battle between the favorites is less close than anticipated.
End of lap three: Michi Walkner leads Dieter Rudolf by 9:55 – a decisive advantage?
Finish: Michi Walkner wins after a truly impressive performance with a total time of 1:34:05, finishing 15:33 minutes ahead of Dieter Rudolf and 40:05 ahead of Lorenz Steinkellner. With his podium finish, Lorenz once again demonstrates his immense talent!
Interviews:
Michi Walkner immediately after the race: “An incredible race in a unique natural setting, organized so professionally that many event organizers could learn from it. Spectators all over the mountain—it was insane!”
Dieter Rudolf, second place: “A super cool event and truly worthy of the name Hard Enduro. I really pushed hard and got closer for a moment, but Michi was unstoppable today. Hats off to organizer Thomas Pirolt!”
Lorenz Steinkellner: “Super happy with my performance in front of a home crowd—I’m practically at home here!”
An emotional Hell’s Ride organizer Thomas Pirolt: “I put a lot of effort into building the course, but I never expected the winner to finish with a 1:30 time—congratulations to Michi Walkner! What makes me especially happy is that all riders, from first to last, are thrilled with the format; everyone can adapt the challenges to their skill level!”
About the new format:
The strengths and unique character of the format became clear. The focus is on collecting points on individual track sections, and only in the case of a tie does time decide the ranking. This makes a smart race strategy just as important as aggressive riding.
Results – Hell’s Ride Hard Enduro 2026
- Michael Walkner (AUT) – 56 points – 1:34:05.7
- Dieter Rudolf (AUT) – 56 points – 1:49:38.1
- Lorenz Steinkellner (AUT) – 56 points – 2:14:10.3
- Leon Hentschel (GER) – 56 points – 2:19:44.5
- Manuel Preuhs – 56 points – 2:44:35.7
- Peter Fakler (GER) – 56 points – 2:50:28.0
- Dino Floricic (CRO) – 56 points – 2:57:31.0
- Philipp Schneider (AUT) – 56 points – 2:59:50.6
- Christopher Vieghofer (AUT) – 56 points – 3:01:11.9
- Patrick Riegler – 56 points – 3:01:13.4
All details about the event can be found at: HellsRide.net
Hell’s Ride Hard Enduro is part of the Hard Enduro World Ranking.
