There are GoPro videos. And then there are GoPro videos like the head cam of motorbiking machine Jonny Walker undertaking the Red Bull Erzbergrodeo in Eisenerz of Austria.
This utterly mental race is one you’ve probably never heard of, but you’ll definitely remember. The GoPro video released on its GoProMX (MX is short for motorcross, folks) channel shows Walker’s victory from a camera mounted on his helmet.
Most impressive is the sheer difficulty of the event. One minute Walker is blasting down incredibly steep rocky descents, the next he’s trying to navigate a field of bloody-great boulders. Not only that, start to finish takes him a whopping one hour and 40 minutes. We were exhausted just watching it.
Competitors get four hours to finish the race and many of the 500 entrants never get that far. Not that we can blame them – it’s utterly gruelling. Probably why it’s so compelling to watch, then.
The Erzebergrodeo – also known as the Erzberg – takes place in June every year. Enduro rider Karl Katoch was the brainchild. 180 riders entered the first ever race back in 1995.
You may not have a spare two hours to watch a YouTube video, but definitely watch the start and some of the forest sections towards the end. This unedited video is a real extreme sports masterpiece and a rare insight into one of the tougest motorsport events on the planet.
Talking of GoPro footage, the GoPro Hero4 has been announced.
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