Ales Trem Hard Enduro springs surprises – Wade Young on a GASGAS

The annual hard enduro season starter in mainland Europe, Ales Trem, has again attracted a bumper entry of Pro riders to southern France including former winners Mario Roman, Graham Jarvis and Wade Young who will ride a GASGAS.

Since announcing he and Sherco had gone their separate ways, Wade Young has yet to announce a permanent plan for this season, except he has confirmed he will contest the 2024 Hard Enduro World Championship.

Stepping in to support the South African this weekend are the local bike shop (to the event venue) Moto Park Montpellier, aka KTM34/Husqvarna34/GASG34/MotoSud34 – basically it is a one-stop bike shop.

Their bike, a sweet-looking GASGAS EC 300, will carry the number one plate this weekend as Young returns as the 2023 winner of Ales Trem. 

It’s for one race only Wade says on his social media but it’ll be great to see what he can do on a fresh manufacturer’s bike after an eight year stint with Sherco.

Sherco debut for Kabakchiev

The flip side to this story is the guy who replaced Young in the Sherco Factory Racing team, Teodor Kabakchiev. The Bulgarian, who placed fifth in the 2023 world championship, has some big shoes to fill but in what is considered Sherco’s home race, the support will be strong. 

The programme kicks off on Saturday with the Xtrem test runs from 9am ahead of prologue qualification from 4pm followed by semi-final and final races in the evening. 

The main, multi-lap race begins from 10am on Sunday and, as in the past, will be a long one with an expected finish time of the first Pro riders at around 5pm.

Pro Class entry list for Ales Trem (top 25 black class riders):

Photo Credit: Moto Park Montpelier + Sherco Racing