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OFF-ROAD 94TH FIM INTERNATIONAL SIX DAYS ENDURO NOVEMBER 11-16, 2019 PORTIMAO, PORTUGAL P50 and the cross tests the first few days tended to be dry, fast, sandy tracks instead of the more technical enduro tests the AMA Enduro National champ thrives on. He finally enjoyed a breakthrough day on the fourth day, finishing fifth overall behind Robert who was third again, but that was to be the only bright spot in his week. Still, he managed to finish third in E3 behind the all-conquering Sanders and Danny McCanney of Great Britain, and was 11th overall for the week. "I wasn't as nervous going into this [Six Days]," Robert said, "but it honestly felt a little bit better [than that first win in Spain], and I don't know if it's just IIIMY OWN RACE: against or anything like that, so I wasn't really sure where I was going to end up," Oliveira said. "But we started the week off with two sand tests, and I love the sand so there was no be er way to start, and I was pumped about that. I've just been having fun here, trying to keep a smile on my face the whole me and have fun and stay off the ground." Of his approach to his second Six Days, he said, "Not too much I did differently, just more confidence coming into it a er last year. It was everything from ge ng my re changes done smoother to staying off the floor and staying calmer before all my tests." tional Champion, Jacob Argu- bright enjoyed a good first day in his ISDE debut, finishing the day 11th overall individual Club rider. In fact, he enjoyed his best result in the very first test of the week, finishing third fastest behind Antoine Meo and Dante Oliveira. But at the beginning of day three, his bike mysteriously lost oil, forc- ing him to retire. Understandably disappointed, he said, "It sucks; I really wanted to finish, but I wasn't able to do that. It's a bummer, but I learned a lot, which is cool. I've got to go to Six Days and get a gold medal! I'll definitely give it another go." FIRST TIMER Ricky Russell, who was a mem- ber of the winning Club team and third individual, found his first Six Days to be a learning experience, though he learned quickly. "It's a different kind of race, for sure," he said. "Before, everyone was telling me, 'Don't be dumb the first two days! Don't go out the first day and make mistakes and ruin your bike or crash and hurt something.' I didn't take it easy; I was going hard, but I was trying to be smart and not make any dumb mistakes. Days one and two, I struggled on those tests, the sandy, whooped tests. I was los- ing a lot of time to my teammate Dante [Oliveira] and [Frenchman Antoine] Meo. But day three, I was actually killing it and was hav- ing really good test times. Learn, learn, learn and it's awesome to get the experience." Briefly... Having crashed out of contention last year, Ryan Sipes was determined not to let that happen this time. He got his wish this year by finishing second E1 and sixth rider overall.