Many people might wonder why off-road riders make such a big deal about the International Six Days Enduro. First and foremost it's one of the toughest, most challenging races we'll ever have the opportunity to do. It is both physically and mentally demanding and is extremely different from the terrain, styles and atmosphere of most racing here in the States. To put it into perspective, I would compare it to the Olympics of off-road racing, just like the Motocross of Nations is looked on as the Olympics of MX. As a matter of fact, the other countries we compete against consider it a close equal to the MXoN. Unfortunately, here in the U.S. it is not as prestigious. Instead we are the country with a lot of talent, but not enough support to launch a respectable effort. During Opening Ceremonies, Team USA's thirty-four members walked down the cobblestone street waving our American flag with our heads held high. We were proud to be there and we were ready to work hard to represent our country and hopefully finish on the podium. Every year we have great support from family, friends, sponsors, teammates, medics and fans. They help us unpack containers, go grocery shopping, fix food, walk tests, deal with injuries, etc. However, even with all the support we do have, it's still not enough. We need to focus on turning our U.S. effort into an elite one like the Euros have. I have no doubt we can turn our ISDE program into what our Motocross of Nations team has with a little work, though a lot of it revolves around getting more exposure.
In an attempt to help bring more publicity to Team USA's racing efforts, I'd like to tell you about my recent adventures at the 84th running of the ISDE in Figueira da Foz, Portugal. Here are my notes and highlights from the six day event:
Day 1
At around 130-miles total, we had to ride two laps around a 65-mile loop, with three tests each lap on day 1. At the end of every day we would have the final special test, on the beach, right before we went into the Parc Ferme , which we did at the end of all five days. We had a total of seven tests every day (not counting day six).
Trophy Team
The ISDE is a team competition, and the highest level is the contest between the Trophy Teams. Our Trophy Team (myself, Kurt Caselli, Ricky Dietrich, Damon Huffman, Timmy Weigand and Nathan Kanney) had a huge blow when Monster Kawasaki's Dietrich had clutch problems and his muffler came apart after a crash. He barely made it through the first test, and by the time he repaired the damage, it was too late to get to the next check and he houred out. Unfortunately Ricky's Six Days was over, which was a huge disappointment after his second overall finish at 2008's ISDE in Greece.
Caselli finished 10th overall for the day, and he posted the fastest time in one test.
I was running second American with 21st overall and 10th in the competitive E2 class.
The Trophy Team finished in fifth, but with Dietrich out the team had used it's one throwaway, and the remaining five riders would have to make all their tests count.
Highlights
• The Jr. Team had an amazing day and their four-man team, consisting of Russell Bobbitt, David Kamo, Jamie Lanza and Cory Buttrick, was running in 2nd place.
• Bobbitt was the top Jr. Team member for the day with a 20th place finish in the E2 class.
• The US Women's Team finished the day in third behind France and Spain. Maria Forsberg, Amanda Mastin and Lacy Jones are all extremely talented riders and their goal was to be as consistent as possible to finish on the podium.
• Club rider Ryan Powell finished first in the C2 class for the day.
• Still trying to figure out how the ISDE format was run, Jr. Team rider Cory Buttrick dropped four trail minutes on day one. Rookie!
Day 2
This was the same course as day one, but it started to get a lot rougher. During the first two days the transfer sections were pretty easy and weren't that sandy, but the tests were grueling!
Timmy Weigand
Jamie Lanza
Nathan Kanney
Trophy Team
I was in 5th gear on a backside straightaway when my bike hit something, swapped out and threw me off. Although I suffered a slight concussion, and wasn't really sure which way I was supposed to go, I was able to get back on, only losing a little over a minute. I finished the test, but was really sore for the next couple days. I went from 21st to 37th after the day was done.
Huffman's tendinitis really started to bother him on days two and three. It was a huge factor for the rest of Six Days, but he toughed it out and finished strong on day six.
Caselli moved into 6th overall, but the test times on day two had deteriorated for the majority of riders. The second day, on the same course, had taken a major toll on the terrain.
ISDE rookie Timmy Weigand posted the 19th overall fastest time in the 5th special test.
Highlights
• The Jr. Trophy team suffered a loss when their captain, David Kamo, had his stator go out causing him to hour out of the Six Days. David is a veteran ISDE member and has finished every ISDE he's competed in, so this was a blow for everyone. Although out of the race, David continued to be a huge help to all the Trophy Teams by walking tests and pointing out good lines.
• Day two was rough for everyone and all three U.S. teams dropped a position. The Jr. Trophy team was put in the same position as the Trophy Team, missing a rider, and the remaining three riders' scores would count for every test.
• Jr. Team member Cory Buttrick posted the 23rd overall fastest time in test five.