There is hardly any other rider in the Enduro circus who has such a broad and fanatic support in the Enduro scene as David Knight, born in 1978 and Sherco-mounted since the end of 2013. Looking at three World Championship tiles in classic Enduro and two GNCC titles “The Knighter” is no stranger to Extreme Enduro at all and looks at an impressive track record having won the Hell’s Gate in Italy three times and the Red Bull Hare Scramble twice – just to mention a few of his wins!
In 2014 he’s already won the Tough One Extreme Enduro in the UK – his sixth (!) victory at the T1 – beating top riders such as Jonny Walker (UK, KTM), Graham Jarvis (UK, Husqvarna), Alfredo Gomez (SP, Husqvarna) and Andreas Lettenbichler (D, KTM). After a number of years focusing pretty much on classic Enduro in the World Enduro Championship the giant from the Isle of Man is not only returning to Extreme Enduro but really puts his focus on this discipline that is constantly getting more attention.
After his decision to compete at Red Bull Sea to Sky David wanted to escape the UK weather for a couple of days and decided to fly out to Turkey and get an initial impression of the sunshine, hospitality and the terrain of the area around Kemer!
Having arrived at the Antalya airport very early in the morning David had been taken to Kemer – just a mere hour away from the Antalya airport. Kemer is a special place, not only for tourists who enjoy this outstanding place at the Turkish Riviera because of the warm climate, the beautiful landscape and the great beaches. In the past four years Red Bull Sea to Sky has attracted the attention of the world’s elite of Extreme Enduro as well as a growing number of ambitioned amateurs from all over the world for a good reason and among the riders this race immediately got the tagline that expresses it all: “The most enjoyable Extreme Enduro race”.
Red Bull Sea to Sky is the most enjoyable Extreme Enduro race because it takes the riders literally from sea to sky, from the beach at sea level through endless riverbeds and the forest all the way up to the Red Bull finish arch at an alpine-like altitude of 2,365m.
This is what David had heard from a number of friends and seen in the outstanding video coverage provided by the Red Bull Media House. The Knighter finally decided to compete in the most enjoyable Extreme Enduro race and when he arrived in Kemer, he started to believe.
David got on his Sherco right away and took a deep breath of fresh air right at the waterfront before meeting up with Martin Freinademetz (XVENTURE) – who is the Red Bull Romaniacs mastermind and responsible for matching Red Bull Sea to Sky with the highest international Extreme Enduro racing standards – and the Kemer Enduro Club headed by Semih Özdemir. The relaxed hospitality and the special places to meet and have a Turkish tea already put a second smile upon David’s face.
After the initial talks David checked the bike that had been provided by Sherco for this trip to make sure it’s set up the right way for this truly extraordinary rider as well as for the special terrain around Kemer. After the bike was good to go Martin Freinademetz and Klaus Sorensen from XVENTURE gave David a quick verbal intro to the tracks they would ride together from previous editions of Red Bull Sea to Sky.
And then the Knighter Show started, demonstrating his incredible skills in all sorts of terrain. Starting off in the rocks of rather dry riverbeds diving into the wet riverbeds and then moving a bit up the mountain to get – yes, correct, more rocks in different styles and take a well deserved break in an exceptional landscape David was also willing to show off a bit in high speed and the guys from the Kemer Enduro Club certainly were more than impressed (photo 20). The day was finished riding at the beach
After a great day of riding and learning about the terrain, the race and special challenges we asked David a couple of questions:
We’re stoked that you’ll race the 5th edition of Red Bull Sea to Sky! What made you decide to come out to the Turkish Riviera?
David Knight:Â I’ve heard about Red Bull Sea to Sky first time about 3 years ago. So far I couldn’t make it because of other events I had to race in the past years. All the comments from especially some UK riders said it’s pretty awesome, a really enjoyable race in a beautiful scenery, that it’s tough and you can have a little bit of a holiday at the same time at the beach.
You’ve spent two days in Kemer now. What do you think about the terrain here in Kemer?
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