Mark Kariya | October 14, 2016
ISDE Spain Day Four Friday Update: Day Four of the 91st International Six Days Enduro in Navarra, Spain, threw an early scare into Team USA, though its World Trophy team rallied to maintain its lead over Italy in the overall standings by a minute and 22.31 seconds. Great Britain remains third, another 1:59.20 back.
ISDE Spain Day Four Friday Update
When Taylor Robert and Kailub Russell had issues in the day’s first test, Thad Duvall (shown descending towards the Gastiain cross test) and Layne Michael stepped up with great rides. That helped keep the U.S. World Trophy team in front of Italy by a minute and 22.31 seconds. Photography by Mark Kariya
With the two laps duplicating yesterday’s loop, familiarity with the tests improved, but that didn’t America’s two leading riders, Taylor Robert and Kailub Russell who were among the first to tackle each of the day’s six tests.
While that can sometimes help, being first in was more of a handicap today due to the slick terrain, despite practically no rain since yesterday.
“It’s not rutted up or anything [in the first test]; the ground was already so hard that it’s just polished slick [after so many riders have been through],” Russell remarked. “It’s unimaginably slick.
“It bit me a couple times.”
And it bit Robert as well, the overall individual race leader sliding off the course and into some trees that trapped his KTM 350 EXC-F for what to him seemed to be forever.
“It was slicker than it was even yesterday,” he insisted. “I don’t even know how that’s possible because I thought yesterday was the slickest stuff I’ve ever ridden!
“I low-sided it into the trees, but I went into such heavy trees that I couldn’t just pick my bike up and turn out—I had to pick it up, pull it backwards out of the trees back onto the trail and take off. I probably lost eight or 10 seconds there doing that, but after that I rode real timid because I didn’t want to make any other big mistakes. I lost 17 seconds to [Australia’s Daniel] Sanders in that first test which was pretty much my whole lead that I’d accumulated the first three days so I was kind of bummed on that.”
ISDE Spain Day Four Friday Update
Josh Toth of the Trail Jesters has been killing it as a Club rider. He was once again the fastest Club rider in a very crowded field and remains the top Club rider after four days. However, the Trail Jesters dropped to fourth. Photography by Mark Kariya
Fortunately, he put the incident behind him and rebounded, doing so well that he was second overall for the day, only 1.35 seconds behind Italy’s Giacomo Redondi with Sanders a further 6.40 seconds back. Robert remains the overall leader with a 25.92-second cushion over Sanders, Redondi now sitting third another 31.12 seconds back.
But Thad Duvall and Layne Michael—who were a little farther back in the starting order and thus hit each test several riders after Robert and Russell—had stellar days to help keep the team in front.
“I felt like I rode really well in the tests today and I’m excited to even be able to ride the [Husqvarna TE] 300 as well as I am because I didn’t really know what to expect,” long-time four-stroke racer Duvall exclaimed. “It’s turned out to be a good week for me. If I walk out of here healthy and if I help the team win this trophy at the end of this week, I’ll be super-happy.”
And the U.S. Junior World Trophy team had an even better day, closing the gap to leader Sweden to 24.24 seconds, Italy another 2:26.02 behind in third. Steward Baylor once again turned in the day’s best run by a Junior, his time 16th best for the day, which made him the second-fastest Junior in the field. Brother Grant Baylor wasn’t far behind in 23rd overall for the day, the sixth-fastest Junior. Trevor Bollinger had to replace the rear fender after it broke under the weight of so much mud and he was 40th overall for the day.
ISDE Spain Day Four Friday Update
Spanish superwoman Laia Sanz decimated the rest of the women, her day’s total time placing her 123rd overall, a minute and three seconds ahead of Germany’s Maria Franke who was 154th. Photography by Mark Kariya
In the FIM Women’s World Trophy division, defending champ Australia continued to lead handily over Spain, which lost Sandra Gomez. Germany’s a distant third with the U.S. squad far back in fourth after losing Rachel Gutish with a suspected mechanical issue. Tarah Geiger remains the fastest of the American women and was the seventh-fastest today with Nicole Bradford the 12th-fastest woman behind Spain’s masterful Laia Sanz.
Though Club team results weren’t available as this was written, Josh Toth of the Trail Jesters trio that was second going into today easily topped the huge field of Club riders, his day’s total some 15 seconds faster than Italian Nicolo Bruschi.
Tomorrow will be a single lap of 121 miles with five tests, all but one previously used.
ISDE Spain Day Four Friday Update
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