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2026 Sea to Sky Results: Lettenbichler Climbs From 15th to Win in Kemer

A Forest Race penalty dropped him to 15th, then Lettenbichler won the Mountain Race by more than four minutes for a third straight Sea to Sky. The FIM sheet has Román second and Moore third, but reports still disagree on Kabakchiev's result and the points.

Trail Roamer Editorial TeamOct 10, 2026 · Updated · 7 min read
Manuel Lettenbichler after winning the Sea to Sky Mountain Race in Kemer, Türkiye, on October 10, 2026. - Credit: Mahmut Cinci / Red Bull Content Pool

On Friday night Manuel Lettenbichler was sitting 15th at Sea to Sky with a 10-minute penalty hanging over him. By Saturday afternoon he was standing on top of Mount Olympos as the winner, more than four minutes clear of everyone. That is his third Sea to Sky win in a row, after 2024 and 2025, and it sends him to the final round of the season 32 points clear in the title fight.

Sea to Sky was round 7 of 8 in the 2026 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, raced over three days in Kemer, Türkiye: the Beach Race on Thursday, the Forest Race on Friday and the Mountain Race on Saturday. If hard enduro is new to you, our guide to what hard enduro is covers the basics. At Sea to Sky, the Mountain Race decides the event. The first two days pay their own championship points and set the start order for the climb, which is how Lettenbichler ended up starting from the third row. The FIM has now posted its official Mountain Race classification. The Beach and Forest results below are still provisional until the FIM posts those too, and we will update this page when it does.

Mountain Race - Saturday, October 10

The finale ran 64 kilometers with 16 checkpoints, from the Mediterranean coast at Kemer to the summit of Mount Olympos (Tahtalı) at 2,365 meters, per Enduro21. Starting from the third row, Lettenbichler picked his way through the field on his KTM 300 EXC, caught Teodor Kabakchiev, rode with him for a while and then pulled away on the hardest sections of the climb. He crossed the line in 3:40:01.78, according to KTM's race release.

"I felt like I needed to get my 'inner-dog' out and give it my all," Lettenbichler said in that release. "When I got into the lead, I rode with Teo for a bit before pulling away."

The fight behind him got messy, and the reports still do not agree on how it ended. Kabakchiev was the only rider who could stay with Lettenbichler for long, and he reached the summit second, just ahead of Mario Román. Just before the finish a wire got caught in his rear wheel, and someone helped him pull it out. SPEEDWEEK reports that officials ruled that outside assistance, gave him a 10-minute penalty and then disqualified him after a protest, taking away his Mountain Race points. Australasian Dirt Bike Magazine, in a report still up on October 12, lists him second in its provisional results, 4:00 behind the winner. Enduro21's Mountain Race report has its own order again. The FIM's official Mountain Race classification leaves Kabakchiev out entirely and puts Román second, but as of Monday morning it does not say why, and we have not found an FIM bulletin that confirms a disqualification. Until the FIM puts it in writing, treat his result as unresolved. Román had his own Forest Race penalty to recover from, started 14th, swapped places with James Moore about five times and even took a wrong descent when his GPS quit, per Enduro21, and still finished 4:11 behind the winner. On the FIM sheet Moore is third and Mitch Brightmore fourth. KTM's release and Motopress also list Kabakchiev second.

Official Mountain Race top 10, per the FIM classification:

  1. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 3:40:01.78
  2. Mario Román (ESP), Husqvarna, +4:11
  3. James Moore (RSA), Beta, +14:26
  4. Mitch Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, +16:21
  5. Thomas Scales (RSA), Beta, +18:50
  6. Ashton Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, +22:48
  7. David Cyprian (CZE), KTM, +34:23
  8. Alfredo Gómez (ESP), Beta, +39:33
  9. Danila Chernyaev, +51:23
  10. Dieter Rudolf (AUT), GASGAS, +55:32

Graham Jarvis finished 11th on his electric Jarvis-E, which Enduro21 says makes him the first rider to complete Sea to Sky on an electric bike.

Forest Race - Friday, October 9

Friday's race was about 40 kilometers through the forests around Kemer, and Kabakchiev was the class of it. James Moore and Thomas Scales set the early pace before the Bulgarian took over and set the fastest time at every checkpoint from there to the finish, per SPEEDWEEK. He won in 1:45:02.41, 50.11 seconds ahead of Moore, with Mitch Brightmore third at 1:43.33 back, according to Dirt Bike Finder UK.

The real story came after the finish. Race direction gave Lettenbichler, Román and Scales 10-minute penalties for breaking the rules in the refueling zone, per Enduro21. Lettenbichler, who had also fought a brake problem, dropped from fifth on the road to 15th, and Román from fourth to 14th. Reports differ on exactly what Lettenbichler's crew did wrong, so we will stick to the official wording once the FIM publishes it.

  1. Teodor Kabakchiev (BUL), Sherco, 1:45:02.41
  2. James Moore (RSA), Beta, +50.11
  3. Mitch Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, +1:43.33
  4. Ashton Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, +2:54.77
  5. David Cyprian (CZE), KTM, +3:26.40
  6. Graham Jarvis (GBR), Jarvis-E, +4:27.02

Beach Race - Thursday, October 8

Sea to Sky opened on a tighter beach course than in past years, packed with sand, tires, logs, rocks and pyramid jumps. Riders went through two timed laps and a run of elimination heats to set a 12-rider final, per Enduro21. Mitch Brightmore led the final from start to finish and won by 11.34 seconds over Kabakchiev, in 8:50.02. Moore was third, just 1.20 seconds behind Kabakchiev, and Ashton Brightmore fourth. Lettenbichler was fighting for the podium until he crashed in a rocky section, then recovered to fifth.

The title fight going to Hixpania

Lettenbichler came to Kemer on 177 points, 38 clear of Mitch Brightmore on 139, with Kabakchiev on 124, per Cycle News after the Roof of Africa. Where things stand now depends on who you read. ADB prints those same three numbers, 177, 139 and 124, as its provisional standings after Sea to Sky. SPEEDWEEK counts Kabakchiev's disqualification and a correction to the Roof of Africa points, and has the top five like this:

  1. Manuel Lettenbichler (GER), KTM, 197 points
  2. Mitch Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, 165
  3. Teodor Kabakchiev (BUL), Sherco, 133
  4. Ashton Brightmore (GBR), GASGAS, 123
  5. James Moore (RSA), Beta, 120

All of these numbers are provisional. When we checked on Monday morning, the FIM's standings page had not yet added Sea to Sky, so neither set of totals is official yet. We will update this table when it is.

If SPEEDWEEK's numbers hold, the gap is 32 points. A round is worth at most 33, so the title is not mathematically settled. The only way Brightmore can win it is to take a perfect 33 at the final while Lettenbichler scores nothing. SPEEDWEEK puts it simply: Lettenbichler needs two points. On ADB's numbers the gap would be 38, which would already be out of reach, so the official table matters here. The championship finishes at the Hixpania Hard Enduro in Aguilar de Campoo, northern Spain, on October 23 to 25. There he can win a record fifth straight world title and the sixth of his career, per KTM and Enduro21.

Sources

Further reading

Results

FIM Hard Enduro World Championship · Round 7 · Sea to Sky, Kemer

Mountain Race (Gold) · FIM official classification

  1. 1

    Manuel Lettenbichler

    KTM

    3:40:01.78
  2. 2

    Mario Román

    Husqvarna

    +4:11
  3. 3

    James Moore

    Beta

    +14:26
Updated Oct 12, 2026Official source

Sources

FAQ

Who won the 2026 Sea to Sky?
Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) won the Mountain Race, which decides Sea to Sky, in 3:40:01.78, ahead of Mario Román and James Moore in the FIM's official classification.
What happened to Kabakchiev at Sea to Sky?
He reached the summit second, but someone helped him free a wire from his rear wheel just before the finish. SPEEDWEEK reports he was given a 10-minute penalty and then disqualified after a protest. ADB still lists him second in its provisional results. The FIM's official Mountain Race classification leaves him out but has not published a reason, so his result is not settled yet.
Is the 2026 Hard Enduro title decided?
Not officially. SPEEDWEEK has Lettenbichler on 197 points and Mitch Brightmore on 165, a 32-point gap with 33 available at Hixpania. ADB's provisional table has 177 to 139. The FIM has not published standings after Sea to Sky yet.
Why did Lettenbichler start the Mountain Race from the third row?
A 10-minute penalty for breaking the refueling-zone rules in Friday's Forest Race dropped him to 15th, which set his start position for Saturday.
When is the last round of the 2026 Hard Enduro World Championship?
The Hixpania Hard Enduro in Aguilar de Campoo, Spain, on October 23 to 25.

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