Calm Before The Storm At ISDE

Shan Moore | September 29, 2013

(Sardinia, Italy, September 28, 2013) – It’s Sunday night in Sardinia, Italy, just about 12 hours before action gets underway for the 88^th running of the International Six Days Enduro. So far everything is going according to plan, with the exception, of course, of Taylor Robert’s suspension, which he was not able to carry onto the plane with him during his flight from LAX. Taylor’s father, however, made it here on Saturday night with the forks and shock (too late for Taylor to change it before impound), and Tayloe is going to use the 10-minute work period before the start to change the rear shock. He will then change the forks later on the first lap.

Today was a relaxing day where riders went out and walked sections to get familiar with the terrain. Zach Osborne and Thad DuVall (picture) are the first Americans out in the morning, with both riders drawing a second row start at 8:01. For the most part, the course appears like it’s going to be dusty, however, a few rain showers have moved into the area as this report is being written.

The riders will cover about 140 miles on Day One, with the terrain being sort of like southern California, fast, dry and rocky, which should favor several of the U.S. contingent. Even most of the east coast riders were happy with the terrain and there seems to be an overall positive attitude going into tomorrow’s start.