2025 Red Bull Tennessee Knockout Results: Lettenbichler dominates for third TKO – Hart and Bolt on podium
Mani Lettenbichler (Red Bull KTM) dominated the 15th Red Bull Tennessee Knockout Extreme Enduro, taking his third win and second in a row. Trystan Hart (FMF KTM) was again runner-up, with Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) completing a star-studded podium of hard enduro talent from both sides of the Atlantic.
The Trials Training Center in Sequatchie, Tennessee, once again became the world epicenter of Hard Enduro from August 8–10, with three intense days of racing and a total of 535 entries across amateur and professional categories. Action kicked off on Friday with the amateur class ‘hot laps’, a key time trial to set the starting order for Saturday’s two rounds.
In the afternoon, it was the Pro class’s turn, with the German setting the tone right from the start. Lettenbichler stopped the clock at 6:22.339, with Hart just three seconds back and Bolt 7.5 seconds off the fastest time. Ryder LeBlond (Husqvarna) was fourth and Will Riordan (Sherco) rounded out the top five, followed by Cody Webb, Ryder Guest, Jordan Ashburn, Daniel Lewis and James Flynn.
It was no coincidence—Mani went on to win the hot lap, TKO 1, and TKO 2, sweeping all heats before the final.
Sunday: Marathon on the “long course”
Sunday morning saw the top 55 riders line up for the first elimination round on the tough and demanding 14-mile (just over 22 km) long course. Lettenbichler once again set the pace with a time of 1:02:57, Hart finishing second 56 seconds back, and Bolt third just nine seconds behind him. Riordan claimed fourth, while Eddie Karlsson (Stark Varg) made history in fifth overall by advancing to the second round on an electric bike. Ashburn, Webb, Niko Piazza, and Flynn completed the top 10.
The second round changed format: 31 riders split into five groups (four groups of six and one group of seven, including the winner of the LCQ Straight Rhythm Duel). They completed another lap of the long course with additional hard enduro sections, with only the top four from each group advancing to the final.
The winners of these heats were Manuel Lettenbichler, Trystan Hart, Billy Bolt, Will Riordan, and Eddie Karlsson, who also made history by becoming the first rider to qualify for the final on an electric bike.
Pro Final: Bolt blasts off the line, Mani seals the deal
The top twenty riders went all-out on the short course: one last explosive race of 35 minutes plus one lap. Bolt shot into the lead and headed the field into the Red Bull Ravine and its three brutal climbs. Hart took advantage of a mistake by the Brit to move into first place at the end of the opening lap, with Lettenbichler in second. On lap two, Hart made another error that cost him the lead, and Mani didn’t let the opportunity slip.
From there, the German maintained a controlled but confident pace at the front, until another mistake from Hart gave him a gap of over one minute. Lettenbichler completed seven laps in 47:53.3, amassing nearly three hours and seven minutes of racing over the course of the weekend. Hart crossed the line second, 52.769 seconds back, and Bolt third, 2:26 behind, despite a crash on the final lap.
Behind them, Riordan (Sherco) claimed fourth place on the last lap after passing LeBlond (Rockstar Husqvarna), a move that secured him the runner-up spot in the AMA US Hard Enduro Premier Championship. Webb (Yamaha) finished sixth after running fourth for much of the final before a crash cost him two positions. Karlsson and his electric Varg delivered a spectacular comeback to seventh after being pushed back to 15th on the opening lap. James Flynn (Beta), Kawelo Huddy (KTM) and Ryder Guest rounded out the top 10.
First impressions from the top 3 riders: How hard was it? Max Gerston catches up with the top three from the 2025 Tennessee Knockout
Final Results – TKO 2025 (Main Event)
- Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) – Alemania
- Trystan Hart (KTM) – Canadá
- Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) – Reino Unido
- Will Riordan (Sherco) – Australia
- Ryder LeBlond (Husqvarna) – EE.UU.
- Cody Webb (Yamaha) – EE.UU.
- Eddie Karlsson (Stark) – Suecia
- James Flynn (Beta) – EE.UU.
- Kawelo Huddy (KTM) – EE.UU.
- Ryder Guest (KTM) – EE.UU.
- Jordan Ashburn (GasGas) – EE.UU.
- Branden Petrie (Beta) – Canadá
- Daniel Lewis (Beta) – EE.UU.
- Niko Piazza (Husqvarna) – EE.UU.
- Coran Calvert (Sherco) – EE.UU.
- Quinn Wentzel (Rieju) – EE.UU.
- Gauge Logan-Key (GasGas) – EE.UU.
- Maverik Thaxton (KTM) – EE.UU.
- Creed Kisling (GasGas) – EE.UU.
- Braxton Hintze (Fantic) – EE.UU.
Complete results: 2025 TKO results
Pro Women and Amateur winners
In the Pro Women’s category, held alongside the top amateurs in Saturday’s second race on the long course, Rachael Gutish (Rieju) took the win and finished 26th overall. Louise Forsley made her debut with Beta in second place, and Nikki Russell (Rieju) completed the podium.
Saturday also crowned the amateur champions across several classes, with nearly 500 participants. In the decisive race for the AMA Grand Championship, Niko Piazza (Husqvarna) claimed victory with a time of 1:04:36, followed by Coran Calvert (Sherco) less than 41 seconds behind, and Maverik Thaxton (KTM) in third. The top 30 riders advanced to compete alongside the 27 Pros in the weekend heats, and all three teenagers from the podium managed to qualify for Sunday’s main event.
Other winners included: Ryan Odom (Amateur B), Neels Uys (A Vet 30+), Drew Kirby (A Senior 40+), Alexander Badilla (B Vet 30+), Chad Evans (A Master 50+), Karol Nasuta (B 40+), Jeffrey Husted (B Super Senior 50+), James Arnold (4-Stroke Sportsman), Carly Paet (Women’s Amateur), and Graham Kobak (Youth Lites 12-15), the latter also finishing 32nd overall.
Standouts in eMoto
The day began with qualifying for the ECR eMoto category, which brought together 33 riders (eight Experts and 25 Amateurs), with the top 20 overall advancing to Sunday’s main event. Eddie Karlsson (Stark Varg) dominated the Expert class, with Max Beaupre (Surron Ultra Bee) in second and Dustin Foudray (Zero XE) in third. In the Amateur class, victory went to Osvaldo Neto (Arctic Leopard), followed by Tucker Neary (Surron) and Nathan Bilbrey (Surron).
Credit photos: Christian Pondella | Red Bull Content Pool
