Teodor Kabakchiev has taken control of the Roof of Africa, Round 6 of the 2026 FIM Hard Enduro World Championship, after winning a gruelling Day 2 in Lesotho's Maloti Mountains. The Bulgarian completed the roughly 110km Big Loop in 5:48:58. With the time trial and today's stage added together, he leads Wade Young by 42 seconds and championship leader Manuel Lettenbichler by 1:21. One day of racing remains.
A Four-Way Fight in the Mountains
Kabakchiev, Young, Lettenbichler and Matthew Green broke clear early and spent more than 100 kilometres pushing each other. Kabakchiev won the stage by 32 seconds from Young, with Lettenbichler another 1:42 back. Green took an impressive fourth and is also fourth on combined time, 4:48 off the lead.
For Young, there is more at stake than Round 6. The South African has won the Roof of Africa nine times, which equals Alfie Cox's all-time record, so a tenth win would give him the record outright. Lettenbichler, meanwhile, is chasing his first win in Lesotho.
Moore's Defence Derailed
James Moore, the defending Roof champion, won Thursday's time trial. Today he had a mechanical problem early in the day that cost him more than an hour. He finished the stage 13th and is now 11th on combined time, 43:22 down. Mitch Brightmore, second in the championship, was already carrying a five-minute time-trial penalty and finished ninth on the stage.
Junior Title Race Opens Up
South Africa's Luke John Walker was the fastest Junior on the stage, finishing sixth overall, with Thomas Scales seventh. The two Junior championship leaders both lost time. Ashton Brightmore had problems and finished 12th, one place ahead of Moore. That makes Saturday a big day for the Junior title.
Equipment Pushed to the Limit
The Roof covers rock gardens, river crossings and altitudes from around 1,400m to more than 3,000m, so it tests bikes as hard as riders. Official championship partner Plews Tyres supplies riders including Moore and Mitch Brightmore, who won the 2024 world title on Plews tyres. Factory Links makes bearing and seal kits for mud, water and heavy mileage, and is an official supplier to Sherco, the brand Kabakchiev races. S3 Parts makes the skid plates, disc guards and controls that take the hits on days like this.
Saturday Decides It. Then Türkiye.
Saturday's Final Ascent is two laps of a 38km loop, with the Gold Class starting at 07:30. It is worth 20 championship points, the most of any day of the event. After Day 2, Kabakchiev has 10 points to Lettenbichler's 8. Before Lesotho, Lettenbichler led the championship on 150 points, ahead of Mitch Brightmore on 126 and Kabakchiev on 94. Billy Bolt is fifth overall but is missing this round after knee surgery, and his fitness will be checked before Round 7.
The championship then heads to Sea to Sky in Kemer, Türkiye, on 8–10 October for Round 7, with two rounds left in the season. Follow the title race on the official HEWC standings.