A Man and His Machine

Extreme enduro rider Aucklander Chris Birch, 29, “is expected to be one of the guys to beat in the World Xtreme Enduro Championships (WXEC)” reports The Independent on Sunday. With boyish good looks and a disarming line in self-deprecation [‘Birchy’] has come from nowhere to challenge the biggest names in the sport: despite being a full-time rider only since 2008, he won his first ‘Big Five’ extreme enduro event, the Roof of Africa, that year, a race he won again in 2009. Extreme enduro is a relatively new sport, which has taken elements of enduro racing, supercross, motocross and trials riding to create the ultimate test of man and machine. It is survival of the fittest on a dirt bike,” explains Jeff Pakosta, the man behind the new WXEC. “It is about these guys challenging themselves against the clock on the most brutal terrain.” The first race in the Championships takes place on February 6 at Hell’s Gate in Tuscany, Italy.