Wisps of steam and smoke hang in the air from overheating engines as motorcycles and their riders lie scattered across a rocky ravine called Jarvis Falls. The 40-yard climb is clogged with competitors pulling on fender straps and kicking at tweaked forks, all while Cody Webb easily picks his way through the color and noise en route to a dominating win at the Kenda RevLimiter Extreme Enduro in north central Texas, dodging bikes and pushing off of trees to regain his balance as he makes his way to the finish.

Webb’s performance reinforces the notion that the factory KTM rider is one of the—if not the—top extreme racers in the world. Extreme racing, or Hard Enduro, is a relatively new term in off-road circles, but it’s one that’s catching on fast. The RevLimiter represents the opening round of the AMA’s newest series, the Extreme Off-road State Championship series, which qualifies riders for the series finale in Sequatchie, Tennessee’s Tennessee Knock Out, which Webb has won the last five years. The Northern Californian beat out Graham Jarvis to win last year’s TKO.

Back in Texas, spectators cheer as Webb catapults up the three-foot vertical ledge at the exit of Jarvis Falls in an effort to put even more distance on Isle of Man resident and multi-time GNCC #1 David Knight, Cory Graffunder, and last year’s winner, Jordan Ashburn. Meanwhile, the dozen or so riders stuck in the ravine are just hoping to finish. The scene prompts one woman to ask out loud, “What makes someone want to put themselves through this kind of torture?”