Gordexola Xtrem 2009: Gibert's Victory

On July 4th in Gordexola, Biscay, the 3rd edition of the ultimate extreme trial in the national enduro scene was taking place: the Gordexola Xtreme 09.

This year Dani Gibert took first place on the podium, giving BMW his first title in extreme enduro and in a national event. Behind him was Melcior Faja, who had very bad luck, 27 seconds behind in a 7-hour race, and in third place on the podium was Xavi León, in a display of courage and grit.

The forecast called for a dry race, but the sky was gray and the day was rainy. It was no surprise that the difficult course designed by MC Aiala would become a nightmare in the rain for the 93 riders who had signed up.

2 laps of 65 km each in the morning and another 60 km lap in the afternoon, which would later be shortened due to the harsh weather conditions, was what the best riders from every corner of Spain faced. The spectators, as always, spread along the long course, helping at every moment and taking part directly.

In the morning, Melcior Faja (Gas Gas), runner-up in the 2008 edition, set off and imposed a very fast pace from the start. Only Borja Nieto (Husaberg), Dani Gibert (BMW) and Jon Aguirrebeitia (HM Honda) could keep up with him, though always at a cautious distance. Another of the favorites, Xavi León (Gas Gas), was doubling his 300 crown and suffered chain problems every time he accelerated. His brother, Sergi León (Gas Gas), accompanied him during the first lap to the finish.

Of the 2 morning laps, the first could be classified as excessively hard; the water and mud made more than ¾ of the course almost impassable. Up to checkpoint 4 there were slopes less affected by water, but from there to the end, checkpoint 12, the extreme descents and the multitude of uphill trial sections gave more than one rider a hard time. Only 47 of the 93 registered riders managed to finish a lap. Only 9 riders completed the lap in under 3 hours.

Already on the second lap, the first riders through checkpoint 1 were Melcior Faja, and 3 minutes later, Jon Aguirrebeitia. Five minutes later Dani Gibert passed, and shortly after, Borja Nieto. The second lap at the head of the race was run at a slower pace than the first, with riders showing fatigue. When the top 3 riders reached checkpoint 9, a climb through a dense mountain with a steep gradient and a surface as slippery as soap, it was cancelled because it was too difficult, and only Faja, Aguirrebeitia and Gibert suffered that ordeal.

Shortly after, they crossed the finish line after 4 hours 38 minutes of extreme, nonstop difficulty, the winner Faja’s time, who would be the first to start. 37 riders completed one lap and only 15 completed both. Of the Juniors, only Malaga’s Eduardo Jurado Cordón completed two laps, and in the Veterans category, also from Malaga, José Alberto Alonso Bruña.

At 6 in the evening, almost four hours after the first rider’s arrival, the intense afternoon race began. Every 30 seconds a rider started, in the order they had arrived at the finish that morning. Thus, in first place, the rider from Non Stop-Befurious, Melcior Faja, set off.

On reaching the first trial section he was caught by Jon Aguirrebeitia, who started second. The rider from MC Gernika overtook him as they arrived together at the first step of the legendary, long and tough Norte de Rodayega trial. The Basque rider climbed to the summit, where hundreds of people crowded to help the riders up.

Faja, shortly after, overtook him on the descent to the river, with Aguirrebeitia dropping to fourth place. Now it was Dani Gibert, starting third, who was tasked with chasing Faja. Behind them, a Xavi León heavily punished after suffering serious problems in the morning, having done the first lap with a doubled crown, and taking twice as long as the others to finish.The first to reach the final trial before the finish was Melcior Faja. The Befurious rider, in a superhuman effort, reached 50 meters from the finish in the lead with enough advantage to claim a win that had eluded him year after year, but bad luck struck and his chain came off in the same spot as last year, costing him precious seconds.

After refitting it and tackling the steps and pools of the river, he reached the finish: a 7-meter vertical wall that had to be cleared to win. After preparing and starting to accelerate, his motorcycle’s chain gave way and snapped. The crowd, very dedicated at all times, lifted his bike by hand, but just as he reached the top, Dani Gibert appeared, jumping off the finish ramp and claiming the victory by just 27 seconds over Faja.

Third to arrive was Xavi León, a fair reward for the superhuman effort he made to finish both laps, and fourth was Jon Aguirrebeitia, who reached the finish without a clutch.

Final standings:

1. Dani Gibert (BMW), 1:52:37.25
2. Melcior Faja (Gas Gas), 1:53:04.34 Gap 27.09
3. Xavi León (Gas Gas), 1:54:47.75 Gap 2:10.50
4. Jon Aguirrebeitia (HM Honda), 1:59:40.58 Gap 7:03.33
5. Carles Figuerola, 2:26:52.43 Gap 34:15.18
6. Iñaki Iturbe, 2:52:00.73 Gap 59:23.48
7. Eduardo Cuesta, 2:57:57.76 Gap 1:05:20.51
8. Egoitz Peñagarikano, 3:00:05.40 Gap 1:07:28.15
9. Iván García, 3:04:17.90 Gap 1:11:40.65
10. Albert García, 3:19:10.03 Gap 1:26:32.78
11. Enrico Garavelli, 3:25:11.33 Gap 1:32:34.08
12. David Cordobés, 3:26:07.06 Gap 1:33:29.81

Source | Press BMW