Erik Riss claims third FIM Long Track world title at Marmande

A decade after winning his second FIM Long Track World Championship, Germany’s Erik Riss completed his hat-trick of titles on a dramatic night at Marmande in France, but what looked like virtually a done deal at the start of the programme took an unexpected twist that threatened to derail his challenge.

In the end the thirty-one-year-old’s championship charge was only delayed, but the mechanical problem in his fifth Heat that dropped him out of an automatic qualification place in the Grand Final – which would have guaranteed him the crown – forced him into the Heat twenty-one and two, where a clear victory earned him a third gold medal to go with the ones he won in 2014 and 2016.

Having tasted defeat in just one Heat across the previous two rounds on the way to winning both Grand Finals, Riss carried a ten-point advantage into the rescheduled Marmande event and while there were another five riders still in with a mathematical chance of claiming the title, the writing was on the wall in the opening Heat when Riss fired to victory ahead of Mika Meijer from the Netherlands.

With Britain’s Chris Harris, Dutchman Dave Meijerink and Tero Aarnio from Finland all opening their accounts with wins, it was in the second block where the front-runners began to stake their claims. Meijerink – who was tied on points with defending champion Zach Wajtknecht for second at the start of the night – defeated Harris and Riss beat Aarnio before former champion Lukas Fienhage from Germany and Denmark’s Kenneth Kruse Hansen took wins.

Meijerink then made it three wins in a row when he led home Kruse Hansen and Fienhage and Finland’s Jesse Mustonen won ahead of Dutch racer William Kruit. Meijer then collected his first win of the night and Riss looked to be continuing his domination when he threaded himself between Harris and Wajtknecht to lead his third Heat before Harris swept to victory around the outside.

With the top three after the Heats transferring directly to the Grand Final and Riss only needing to finish fifth to be certain of the crown, he appeared to be cruising to the title with victory in the fourth block ahead of Fienhage, but Meijerink looked to be in trouble when he trailed in last in his fourth Heat as Wajtknecht claimed the win before Kruit and Harris both added another four points to their scores.

The new format for 2026 puts racers placed from fourth to thirteenth through to Heat twenty-one and two with points carried over from the Heats and only two riders making the cut, so tensions were running high with just one block to go.

After Mustonen had won from Kruit and Britain’s Jake Mulford had defeated his compatriot Wajtknecht, Riss rolled up behind the tapes for his last Heat with one hand already on the title and he seemed to have it firmly in his grasp when he started wide and dived up the inside to take the lead. However, with two laps to go on Marmande’s three-cornered ‘trioval’ circuit he was forced to pull up with a mechanical issue – handing victory to Meijerink – and when Fienhage led home Harris in the concluding Heat, Riss found himself in Heat twenty-one.

In the end it was a formality as Riss dominated his race, booking his place in the Grand Final and in the process clinching the crown before Mustonen defeated Wajtknecht to progress to the night’s main race.

Harris had been in brilliant form throughout the Marmande programme and he finished the season off with a Grand Final victory that earned him the series bronze with Meijerink coming home second to secure a career-best silver, but the night belonged to Riss, the newly-crowned three-time FIM Long Track World Champion.