Dougie Lampkin reinforced his legend status in the world of off-road motorcycling by stealing a late and heroic victory at the famous Hell’s Gate Extreme Enduro event in Italy.

The veteran Silsden trials rider overcame a painful and restrictive ankle injury, picked up in the previous weekend’s FIM Indoor Enduro World Cup event in Barcelona, to defeat fellow British rider Graham Jarvis in the closing metres.

It was unclear if Lampkin would even start the race after being hospitalised by the ligament damage he suffered.

But having made it on to the Hell’s Gate podium 12 months ago at the first attempt, he was adamant that he would return to fight for a win.

Lampkin qualified for the afternoon’s main event in fourth place but pulled out all the stops to hold off Jarvis in the finale.

“I really can’t believe that I have won, as the odds were certainly against me,” he said.

“Earlier in the week I was not sure if I was going to be able to ride but I decided to come and see how it went. Even after qualifying I was still not convinced that I was going to be able to make it to the finish.

“My ankle has swollen to the size of my thigh but hopefully I can be somewhere near fit for the Tough One back in the UK later this month, as that is another event I would love to win.”