After the first three days of the International Six Days Enduro, it looks like the U.S. Women’s World Trophy team is on its way to victory, but that’s why they’re racing. Brandon Richards, who has been lighting it up so far this week, pulled out today, leaving the team out of contention for the win.
Meanwhile, the United States (men’s) World Trophy team started the week in fourth place but dropped to fifth overall yesterday. After day 4, they were still in fifth place.
Here’s the latest from KTM’s press department.
LE PUY-EN-VELAY, CORE STEED
LE PUY-EN-VELAY, WITH BRAND Richards OUT OF THE RACE, FRANCE – It’s been a rough fourth day off for the U.S. women’s world champion team. The International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) as division leader Brandy Richards (KTM) suffered a race-ending crash. With Richards out, the U.S. women’s team was forced out of the team event, but KTM’s Korie Steede had another great performance, finishing the day in third overall. The U.S. world champion team remains within the top five of the group and will look to finish the week strong with two more days of racing in Le Puy-Enville, France.
World Trophy Team(WT)
After a tough day of riding with a sore knee, FMF KTM Factory Racing’s Kailub Russell came back on day four, recovering as the No. 1 American in the World Trophy class stronger strength. He finished 11th in the first test and maintained a decent pace for the rest of the day, finishing 16th. KTM’s Josh Toth was also solid, finishing in the top 20 overall. Dante Oliveira found himself having mechanical issues early on, but he was able to keep it rolling on two wheels for the rest of the day, contributing time on behalf of the US World Trophy team.
Kailub Russell: “Fourth day was fine in the first test, nothing crazy. I had a little problem with my knee yesterday which caused me some trouble and this morning my wrist was affected by a crash yesterday but I got over it and got stuck. I’m really at all Struggled in a very muddy cross test. Both enduro tests were ok, I was just trying to find comfort on this very hard silty dirt when the grass was blown away. We have some new tests tomorrow and we will Try again.”
Josh Toth: “I had a great day today and felt much better towards the end. Day. Unfortunately when I felt like I was riding well , I had a couple of tip-overs in both tests. We’ll try to minimize those mistakes, keep the bike feeling good, and try to keep it going in the right direction to the finish.”
Dante Oliveira: “I had a rough start to my day. I ended up having to work on the bike in the morning – I had to get the cam loose because the bike kept locking on me. Once we figured it out , everything was fine, I just made the day as smooth as possible. I was just trying to save the bike as much as I could, so I didn’t really test the best. I had a few that were ok, but nothing great Yes. Hopefully we can finish in a strong way as a team and get off to a good start next year.”
JUNIOR WORLD TROPHY TEAM (JWT)
KTM’s Mateo Oliveira had a great day four, finishing seventh in the Junior World Trophy and 25th on the day. His teammate Austin Walton (Husqvarna Motorcycles) finished fourth and 18th in the JWT after putting up his best test result of the week – fifth – to end the day.
Mateo Oliveira: “Definitely an improvement from yesterday. I think I moved up a few more spots and just started to find my best. I’m still not at the level I expected, but this It’s my first six days and I’m just starting to calm down and lower my expectations, that’s ok, now I know what to do and look forward to the next few years and I’m just having fun with it.” For Brandi Leigh The end of the week was unfortunate for Chaz, who led the first 15 Tests of the week before suffering a serious meltdown in the opening Test on day four. The defending women’s champion tries to play the next two quarters She continued to race in the middle of the week, but then the team and doctors decided she would miss the rest of the week. While the U.S. Women’s World Trophy team has retired, teammates Korie Steede (KTM) and Rachel Gutish (GASGAS) continue to fight for individual honors. Steed is currently second in the Women’s World Trophy after four days, while Gutish remains sixth.
Team USA manager Antti Calonen: “Slightly unfortunate news, Brandy crashed in the first test today. She was able to move on to the next two tests but ended up crashing Head and ribs, so it turned out to be too hard, we decided with the doctor to stop her race. Unfortunately, the women’s team didn’t have a title fight, they were ahead by over 10 minutes today, but race and health come first, any medals It’s all second and we’re going to deal with it now and get ready for the next race year.”
Korie Steede: “Test one, I saw my teammate get up off the ground, so I was worried about her, we moved on to the next test, and I found out she was badly hurt. I was thinking about her all day, just Want to get off the ground, focus on myself and make the most of the day. I’m just thinking about brandy and I’m praying she’s ok.”
The 2022 International Six Days Enduro race will be on September 2 Resuming Friday, Day 5 of Six in Le Puy – Enville, France. For the latest on KTM riders, follow Instagram and keep an eye out for daily recaps from all of America’s teams. For a complete list of results, visit https://fim-isde.com/2022-results/.
World Trophy Classification (After Day 4, 6 Days)
1. UK, 9:32:38.532. Spain, +4:09.763. Italy, +4:14.954. France, +8:48.625. USA, +13:38.04
Junior World Trophy Classification (Day 4 of 6 later)
1 . Italy, 7:26:33.942. Finland, +2:33.213. Australia, +6:38.874. UK, +9:41.585. Spain, +13:25.05
Women’s World Trophy Classification (Day 4 of 6)
1. UK, 8:29:58.832. France, +11:30.003. Australia, +14:11.114. Sweden, +39:50.175. Canada, +1:35:58.60
Main image by Dante Oliveira courtesy of KTM Images
