Pole position
By TMX Archives on 9th Jan 08
THE first rider ever to sign a factory contract specifically for indoor and extreme enduro, Poland's Tadeusz Taddy' Blazusiak has become big news during the past six months.
With wins at Erzberg, the Las Vegas Endurocross and Last Man Standing in Texas to his credit, Poland's newest enduro star is here to stay.
During the last six months, Taddy Blazusiak has made a huge impression on the international enduro scene. A rider few within the enduro world had even heard of before this summer, thanks to impressive wins at Erzberg, the Endurocross in Las Vegas and Last Man Standing, the 24-year-old Pole has ensured that, today everyone is talking about Taddy Blazusiak.
Blazusiak's rise to the top has been as rapid as it has successful. With his ‘just for fun' outing at this year's Erzberg Rodeo resulting in a comfortable win in the infamous race around the Iron Mountain, a factory KTM contract soon came his way, which resulted in his life as a professional motorcycle rider changing from that day onwards.
''Everything changed for me after I won Erzberg,'' explains Taddy. ''I have been a professional trials rider for several years, which not everyone knows, so the life that I have now is not completely different to what I already knew. But it was amazing - I won the race on Sunday and was in KTM the following Tuesday, talking about a contract with them, which was totally unexpected.''
Taddy very nearly didn't go to Erzberg - the event that put him on the map in a major way! Good friends with Poland's WEC regular Bartosz Oblucki, the ‘lads weekend away' was very nearly scrapped when Bart' picked up an injury.
''I wanted to ride at Erzberg, mainly to help Bartosz,'' recalls Taddy. ''Bart broke some ribs before the race so the whole trip was a little up in the air. Eventually we got in my camper and went.''
Although everyone knows that Taddy went on to win the race aboard a KTM, few are aware that he had initially planned on competing on a very different bike. He borrowed a Gas Gas from the Polish importer, which had been used in the 2006 ISDE and,seemingly, every weekend since with little or no maintenance.
For full report, results and pictures see T+MX News, Friday, January 11, 2008