Tadeusz Blazusiak, KTM’s extreme Enduro supremo on Saturday blasted his way to another clean sweep of the points in the third round of the FIM Indoor Enduro World Cup to secure the victory in Vigo, Spain and the 2010 title with one event still in hand.
The 2010 Indoor Enduro title is just one more piece of silverware to add to the Polish factory rider’s impressive collection. He was AMA GEICO Endurocross Champion in 2009 and in June also emerged undisputed king of the hill after his third consecutive victory in the notorious Hare Scramble at the Erzberg Rodeo.
Spanish favourite and last year’s champion Ivan Cervantes (KTM Enduro Factory Team) was second behind Blazusiak in Vigo with Joakim Ljunggren of Sweden in third place. The two will fight it out for the minor overall championship places in the last event later in January. Taddy picked up his title with a straight scorecard from the three events held so far: three times maximum 15 points from Sheffield, Genoa and n Vigo.
Taddy unbeatable, also in Vigo
Taddy was unbeatable in the Vigo arena on his KTM 250 machine in front of a big crowd of enthusiastic Spanish fans whose first loyalties went to home favourite Cervantes. With the crowd behind him Cervantes did take the holeshot in the first of three finals but then crashed and opened the door for the Polish Prince. Cervantes did manage second place in the second and third finals but it was Blazusiak who was the undisputed hero of the third round to hand him first place in the 2010 final classification.
Indoor Enduro increasing in popularity
The third edition of the winter Enduro competition, which saw the World Cup increased from three to four events, continues to attract impressive crowd support. It brings the skills and courage of Enduro competition into indoor arenas making it more accessible to the public than the classic outdoor world championship held over 60-70 km laps often in thick forest. Riders still have to negotiate the same earth, sand, tree trunks, rocks and water hazards as they do in the wild, but all in an area visible to the spectators. The competition format of elimination and lucky loser heats, concentrating the top riders in three finals, increases the excitement of this event.