P122
CN
III CROSS-RUTTED
I
t's been five weeks since the
crushing defeat of the Ameri-
cans at RedBud, and moto
fans are still reeling. I get it, our
dreams were crushed and it's
the end of life as we know it, but
I dare say we're over-indulging
in the post-mortem at this point.
Still, I feel for my moto buddies
and I'd like to offer a salve for the
deep burn still resonating with so
many. The off-roaders in the room
already know, but this is for the
woeful moto fans still longing for
some national inspiration of the
knobbied kind.
I'd like to introduce you to a
whole new Team USA. Meet the
United States Trophy Team who
are competing at the International
Six Days Enduro (ISDE) as we
speak: Steward Baylor, Ryan
Sipes, Taylor Robert and Zach
Bell. These filthy animals are about
to unleash a whole shipping con-
tainer of whoop-ass on the Euro-
peans in Vina del Mar, Chile at the
ISDE, November 12-17. Theirs is a
story of an inspired rise to the top
in an arena where the Americans
used to get completely smoked.
Going back a few years to a
time when we were racking up the
MXoN wins year after year, savor-
ing our supremacy, the Americans
were sorely lacking a competi-
tive presence at the Six Days. If
you've ever seen the iconic On
Any Sunday, you have an idea of
this daunting event where riders
compete in six full days of special
tests and long transfer sections
in between. Riders then have a
limited amount of time to work on
their own bikes (no outside as-
sistance allowed), meaning tires,
fluids and filters all have to be
changed quicker than most of us
can perform a single oil change.
The sheer challenge of the Six
Days is compounded by the steep
cost of attending it. Years ago, not
many U.S. factory teams had it on
their scope, leaving riders to try
AMERICA'S BEST
The 2018 ISDE U.S.
World Trophy, Junior
World Trophy and
Women's World Trophy
Teams are ready to
battle in Chile.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
MARK
KARIYA
BY JEAN TURNER
