Blazusiak Withdraws From The Tough One

This weekend, The Tough One Extreme Enduro, the final extreme off-road race of the 2009-2010 winter calendar, will take place in the Natmawr Quarry in Shropshire, England, without KTM's extreme off-road specialist Taddy Blazusiak. It was announced today that The Tough One's defending champion has pulled his name from the entry list after coming down with the flu.

After having been put on antibiotics and advised by his doctor not to anything else but rest for the next seven days, Blazusiak will heed his advise and stay home in Poland.

"It goes without saying that I'm really disappointed that I can't compete this weekend," Blazusiak said in a press release sent out from KTM. "But if I'm not 100 percent then there is no point in me racing. The Though One is a great race and like all extreme races you have to be fully fit and healthy to perform at your best. I had a great time at the event last year, and I'm sure that Steve (Ireland, the event's creator) and his team will put on another great event this year. It wouldn't be right to start the event knowing that there's little chance of me being able to ride at 100 percent for the full race."

The extreme enduro race will still feature some of the world's best extreme racers, including three-time Tough One winner David Knight, 12-time World Trials Champion Dougie Lampkin and 2009 Red Bull Romaniacs winner Andreas Lettenbichler.

Next year, The Tough One race will be a round of the World Xtreme Enduro Championship (WXEC) which will officially begin in 2011. As of now, five events will make up the WXEC series: The Tough One, Hell's Gate, Erzberg Rodeo, Red Bull Romaniacs and The Roof of Africa. A sixth round is being planned for the United States.

from Cycle News