ISDE DAY THREE: Italy hold firm as USA close on Sweden
By Team TMX on 14th Oct 26
Italy remain firmly in control of the World Trophy at the halfway point of the 100th edition of the 6DAYS® FIM Enduro of Nations in Grândola, Portugal, while France continue to lead the Junior World Trophy and the USA and Australia remain locked in battle for the women’s crown.
Day Three marked a significant milestone in the six-day contest, with riders facing up to 260km of riding in another demanding day of dusty conditions. There was some welcome relief when organisers cancelled two of the six scheduled special tests following a technical issue with the timing system, reducing the day’s timed action to four tests.
Italy remain the team to beat in the World Trophy, extending their advantage over France by a further two seconds to 3m26s. With three riders inside the overall top 15, France are showing plenty of speed but have yet to make significant inroads into the defending champions’ lead.
Behind the leading pair, the battle for third is heating up. Sweden remain in the medal position, but the United States have closed to within just 12 seconds after their strongest team performance of the week.
Grant Davis, Jonathan Girroir and Dante Oliveira (all KTM) finished fourth, fifth and sixth overall respectively, separated by just six seconds, as the sandy terrain appeared to play into American hands
“We definitely gained some ground today that’s helped us catch back up to Sweden,” said Girroir. “It feels good to put in a ride like that as a team. Motivation will be high tomorrow to keep this going.”
Spain remain fifth, a little over seven minutes behind Italy, with Finland sixth and Chile seventh. Belgium hold eighth ahead of Canada, while Mexico complete the top 10, just five seconds behind the Canadians.
France continue to lead the Junior World Trophy, extending their advantage over Italy by 12 seconds to 42 seconds. With three days still to run, though, that’s hardly a comfortable cushion, and both teams know one mistake could swing the balance.
Italy’s Alberto Elgari (TM MOTO), currently the highest-placed Junior rider, insists his team aren’t ready to throw in the towel despite injury concerns surrounding Kevin Cristino and Manuel Verzeroli.
“We’re not giving up,” said Elgari. “We’re here to fight the best we can. Both Kevin and Manuel are struggling a bit with injury, but they are still doing an incredible job.”
The United States remain third, three minutes behind Italy, but hold a 1m43s advantage over Spain in fourth. The Czech Republic complete the top five, ahead of Australia, while Chile sit seventh.
Finland lead Sweden by just 15 seconds in the battle for eighth, with hosts Portugal rounding out the top 10.
The fight for the MOTOREX Women’s World Trophy remains a two-team affair, with the United States edging Australia by just five seconds on Day Three. The Americans retain an overall advantage of around four minutes, most of which was built on the opening day, but Australia continue to apply pressure.
Both nations are chasing a seventh 6DAYS® victory, setting up an intriguing battle over the remaining three days.
France look increasingly comfortable in third, despite sitting 33 minutes behind the USA. They hold an almost 18-minute advantage over New Zealand in fourth, with Chile fifth, just two minutes further back. FIM Latin America sit sixth, ahead of Canada and Brazil.
Portugal’s hopes of a medal finish took a hit as they dropped from fourth to ninth after losing a rider.
“Today we lost a rider and hopes of a team result, but it’s how it goes sometimes,” said team leader Joana Gonçalves (Husqvarna). “So far it’s very difficult, with a lot of kilometres and hours riding on the bike. But I will keep fighting on and continue to give my best out there.”
Great Britain endured another demanding day, with dust continuing to make life difficult across all three Trophy Teams. The cancellation of two scheduled tests reduced the timed action, but the remaining special tests were still a major challenge, particularly where dust lingered among the trees and restricted visibility.
Nathan Watson and Brad Freeman continued to lead the British charge in the Men’s Trophy, with Watson taking fourth in Test Three and Freeman sixth in Test Two. Watson ended the day ninth overall, while Freeman finished 15th as both continued to fight for strong individual results following Jamie McCanney’s retirement on Day Two.
The women also produced some encouraging performances, with Lucy Barker fourth in Test Six and Rosie Rowett eighth in Test Five. Barker finished eighth overall, with Rowett 10th, as the pair continued to fly the flag for Great Britain following Nieve Holmes’ retirement.
In the Junior Trophy, Sam and Callum Hughes completed another tough day in the saddle. Callum finished 26th in the Junior class, with Sam 31st, as the pair continued to gain valuable experience at the 100th edition of the event.
With three days remaining, the British riders will be hoping to build on their individual performances as the battle for the Trophy honours intensifies.
