The longest-running competition on the FIM’s extensive calendar of two-wheeled events began in 1913 in Great Britain as the International Six Days Trial (ISDT). Though not run continuously, it has now completed 99 editions, and this year’s event will mark a historic milestone: it closes one chapter and begins a new one as it heads into its next 100 years.
100th 6Days Closes One Chapter and Begins a New One in Portugal
After 1980, the FIM changed the race’s name to better reflect the sport’s technological changes, and in 1981, in Italy, it was christened the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE). Bikes became more specialized, reliable and faster, thanks to long-travel suspension, reed-valve induction and power valves for the two-strokes that dominated the marketplace at the time.
Now, another name change arrives with the 100th edition of this storied race, and to more closely align it with other FIM marquee events, it becomes the 6Days FIM Enduro of Nations. Admittedly, it sounds a little clumsy until you realize that Motocross of Nations and Trial of Nations are also one-off FIM World Championship races. Like most people, we’ll just call it 6Days.
This will mark the fourth time Portugal has hosted it and, so far, it appears to replicate most previous editions, with dry, very dusty conditions and high temperatures in the 80s. The terrain is mostly flat, in the southern part of the country, roughly 100 miles from the 2019 ISDE, and will feature plenty of sand.
Defending champion Italy is one of the favorites in the FIM World Trophy competition pitting four-rider teams against each other, with France, Great Britain, Sweden and the U.S. also standing good chances due to each featuring a quartet of consistently quick, reliable riders. Seventeen countries sent teams.
It’s also hard to bet against Italy—the 2025 winner—in the Junior World Trophy, with 14 countries pinning their hopes on their three-rider teams of riders under 24 years old. Other teams to watch include Sweden (last year’s runner-up, though this year’s team is made up of newer faces), France, Spain, USA, and possibly Australia and Great Britain.
With three returning faces, the U.S. promises to be hard to beat in Women’s World Trophy as they go for a record-tying sixth victory, which would bring them even with last year’s runner-up Australia. Former champ Great Britain threatens with a new addition while five-time winner France should be a dark horse.
While the Trophy teams generate the most headlines, the three-man Club teams (primarily for non-professional competitors) make up most of the approximately 500-rider field from 30 countries. The U.S. has seven Club teams in the mix.CN
2026 6Days FIM Enduro of Nations Day One
Defending champion Italy started off strongly on the first day of the 100th 6Days FIM Enduro of Nations, topping both the FIM World Trophy (WT) and Junior World Trophy (JWT) categories. The U.S. squads finished the day fifth WT (with riders Steward Baylor Jr, Grant Davis, Johnny Giroir and Dante Oliveira) and third JWT (comprised of Toby Cleveland, Cooper Jones and Jason Tino).
Baylor, the senior member of the U.S. WT team, probably echoed the sentiments of his teammates when he said, “I know I’ve got my better days ahead. Today did not pan out to be one of those—just a few mistakes there, a few crashes there.
“I was actually the top American the first half of the day but went down three or four times and after that, it was all she wrote.”
On the other hand, the U.S. Women’s World Trophy (WWT) team dominated as it strives to reach a record-tying sixth triumph in the category. After the first day of competition, the American trio (Rachel Gutish, Brandy Richards and Korie Steede) leads Australia—the six-time WWT winner—by just over three minutes, with Great Britain over seven minutes in arrears. Richards and Steede occupied the top two spots individually, with Gutish seventh overall among women, with the dry, dusty conditions—and especially the slick, hard-packed portions of the special tests uncomfortably foreign for her and Steede.
Americans also figured highly in the Club team standings with two of the top three teams. Team Rabaconda (Will Sievenpiper, Colton Shields and Jhak Walker) topped the results sheet, led by Sievenpiper, the second-overall Club rider, followed by Team Italy and the Missouri Mudders (Anson Maloney, Collier Martinez and Lane Whitmer). GTBN (Jaden Dahners, Layton Smail and Tyler Vore) finished the day fifth.
Hough Legacy Racing (Chase Bright, Clayton Gerstner and Lowe Lord) finished eighth, followed by Randy Mastin Memorial (Maverick Alaway, Eric Forsberg and Levi Wilkins) in ninth.
XC Gear (Trevor Hulin, Henry Symanski and Austin Tsakanikas) ended the day 42nd while Mojo/SxS (Nathan Ferderer, Anthony Ferrante and Tanner Whipple) was a disappointed 79th after Whipple’s Beta sheared a flywheel key. He got back to the paddock, replaced the offending piece and can restart tomorrow, but the team is essentially down to two scoring riders with little chance of moving much farther up.CN
VIDEO | Six Days Daily – 2026 ISDE Day 1 Results
