No Walker grand slam as Graham Jarvis is first up the mountain at Red Bull Sea to Sky…
With all eyes on Jonny Walker to see if he could wrap up the perfect season by winning in Turkey, Jarvis was determined to keep the Grand Slam out of reach for his fellow Brit.
In a reversal of fortune to when Walker stopped Jarvis clinching the Grand Slam in 2013, Jarvis became Walker’s spoiler in the mix for 2015.
After his customary slow start, Jarvis got his head down exiting the canyon section. Up to third by half distance, he hunted down both Walker and Wade Young, who were trying to make a break for it.
With the trio locked together, it looked like becoming a battle to the finish, but Jarvis had one card left up his sleeve to play. Gambling on the final refuel stop, he didn’t pit and hit the front of the field as they headed towards the final mountain climb. Pulling clear, he crossed the finish-line as the clear and certain winner.
“It always sucks to lose – especially with a perfect season to play for – but I rode a good race. Graham just had more pace over the mountain,” admitted Walker. “I felt like I did almost everything right early on but I knew Graham was chasing and he was on a mission today. The Grand Slam would have been cool but overall I’ve had a great year. I won five races and in a sport as tough as this that’s a good record.”
Delivering a solid performance, Wade Young challenged Jarvis and Walker until the final few sections of the race. Keeping them honest, the 19-year-old locked down his first Sea to Sky podium.
“I’m happy to get my first Sea to Sky podium,” said Young. “I really wanted a good result here. Winning the Forest Race gave me a lot of confidence for the Mountain Race and I attacked hard from the start. I had a few problems during the second half of the race but other than that it was a good run.”
Behind the top three, Paul Bolton and Andreas Lettenbichler fought it out for the remainder of the top five positions. Passing Lettenbichler over the final mountain mile, Bolton gladly took fourth.
With the final race of 2015 now put to bed, that elusive Hard Enduro Grand Slam lives on.
