Andrea Verona has set the fastest time on Day 1 of the Iron Road Prologue at the 2026 Red Bull Erzbergrodeo, ahead of Daniel Sanders and Manuel Lettenbichler, in an opening day dominated by KTM and its big hitters from EnduroGP, Rally-Raid and Hard Enduro.

Rain and mud added an extra layer of difficulty to the first of two runs in the Blakläder Iron Road Prologue. Riders will get a second chance to improve their times tomorrow, but as everyone knows at Erzberg, once 1,500 bikes have blasted their way up the wide, 15-kilometre gravel course, the track gets rough, full of bumps and finding a clean line becomes increasingly difficult. Beating the Day 1 times is never easy.

We say it every year, but it remains one of the keys to this prologue: starting early is gold dust. The first riders find the ground at its cleanest, smoothest and fastest. From there, every bike takes its toll on the course, turning the uphill time trial on the Iron Giant into an increasingly tricky challenge where choosing the right line becomes crucial.

KTM riders lock out the podium positions

With EnduroGP world champion Josep García —last year’s prologue winner— absent, and Billy Bolt also missing after undergoing further surgery this week due to an infection in his left hand, Andrea Verona made the most of the opportunity. The Italian, an eight-time enduro world champion, flew on his KTM 450 EXC-F to set the fastest time of the day with a 10 minutes and 26 seconds run.

Behind him, Daniel Sanders proved he is not just fast in the desert. The Rally-Raid World Championship leader, fresh from Argentina after winning the Desafío Ruta 40, finished second, 12 seconds behind his KTM teammate. It was an impressive ride from “Chucky”, once again showing that the enduro instinct which made him the fastest rider at the 2019 ISDE in Portugal is still very much alive before his successful switch to rally-raid.

Manuel Lettenbichler completed the top three. The German, winner of the last four editions of the ErzbergRodeo, started this 30th edition strongly by setting the third-fastest time on his KTM 300 TBI two-strokes, 16 seconds down on Verona. More than enough to secure a prime spot on the front row of 50 riders for Sunday’s main race — the place everyone wants to be when the real fight begins.

As in every edition of Erzberg, there were also a few surprises among the leading names. Austria’s Michael Kratzer, on Honda, climbed to fourth, while Sébastien Tortelli, two-time motocross world champion and now Stark Racing team manager, put the helmet back on to take the electric Stark VARG to a brilliant fifth place.

The always-fast American Carson Brown, known as the “king of pitbikes”, was sixth on KTM, ahead of Germany’s Chris Gundermann on Honda; Britain’s Bert Boam on Rieju; Austria’s Dieter Rudolf on GASGAS; and Spain’s Edgar Canet, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rally rider, who completed the top 10 on a KTM in his Erzberg debut.

Goal: a front-row start

Among the hard enduro specialists, several big names have managed to break into the top 50, the positions that secure a place on the front row for Sunday’s main race, reserved for the 500 fastest qualifiers. American Trystan Hart (KTM) finished 12th, just ahead of Britain’s Mitch Brightmore (GASGAS), 13th, and Catalan rider Marc Sans (Stark), 14th. Jonny Walker (Triumph) also secured a strong starting position in 16th, followed by Teodor Kabakchiev (Sherco) and Toby Martyn (Stark).

Further back, Will Hoare (KTM) ended the day in 21st, while Mario Román (MR74) placed 24th. Behind them came Eddie Karlsson (Stark), along with Americans Cody Webb (Sherco) and Ryder LeBlond (Husqvarna), among many other big names, down to Italy’s Lorenzo Gandola (Sherco), 50th and provisionally the last rider to secure a front-row start.

Hard enduro legend Graham Jarvis (Jarv-E), meanwhile, finished 259th on his electric bike. As things stand, he would start from the sixth row unless he can improve his time tomorrow.

Twin Cylinder and Lady Cup classes

In the twin-cylinder category, Austria’s Armin Ohrlinger (Aprilia) was fastest with a time of 11m32s. Germany’s Kevin Gallas (Yamaha Ténéré 700) finished eight seconds slower, while Slovenia’s Tomaz Jernejsek (Kove) was third, 24 seconds off the winning time. Pol Tarrés (Yamaha) and Mario Román (CFMoto) completed the top five.

In the Lady Cup, Spain’s Sandra Gómez (Beta) set the fastest time with a 12-minute run, ahead of Slovenia’s Tjasa Fifer (GASGAS) and Switzerland’s Laura Gyr (KTM).

Iron Road Prologue results - Day 1 (top 100)

Twin Zylinder results (top 10)

Lady Cup results (top 10)

*Results will be updated as they become official.

Complete results

Credit photos: Future7Media | Andrea Verona