Bad Start For US ISDE Effort At 92nd Edition Of ISDE In France

The US ISDE Team’s 2017 campaign didn’t get off as planned with the US World Trophy Team getting knocked out of contention in the very first test of the day when Thad DuVall crashed just four turns from the finish, injuring his wrist. DuVall tried to keep going, and even rode the over 50-plus miles of transfer to the second test, but had to call it a day at that point due to the pain. His plan is to fly home early and get it evaluated.

Four riders make up each FIM World Trophy Team and all four rides count on each day, so if a rider DNF’s a day that in effect disqualifies the entire team. World Trophy Team riders Taylor Robert, Kailub Russell, and Ryan Sipes will still be able to continue to compete for individual honors, and Robert, who won the individual overall last year in Spain, is sitting second overall individually and second in the E2 class, just about seven seconds behind Christophe Nambotin. The Arizona native told us he’s confident he can make up the difference and give Nambotin a run for his money.

The US Junior Trophy Team, made up of Josh Toth, Grant Baylor and Lane Michael, sits fourth after Day One, but are still within striking distance of winning the division. Sweden leads the division with a total time of 57:57.43, while team USA is about a minute and seven seconds back. Don’t count the US Juniors just yet, Grant had a top five overall in one of the tests and seems to be getting faster with each test.

Despite a mechanical problem by Becca Sheets, the US Women’s team, composed of Kacy Martinez, Brandy Richards, and Sheets, sits third overall after one day, and since not every day counts, the Women’s team is still in good shape. Spain leads this division after Day One, which includes Laia Sanz, and Australia, which includes Tayla Roberts, who has been competing in the States this year.

Tomorrow will run the same course as today, and most of the Club riders, who ride the trail last, say it is getting super rough. It will be interesting to see how things change with tougher trail.