Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1970's

while on Day Five, even with the loss of teamster Dane Leimbach, we inched up to sixth overall and finally settled in at fourth on the final day. The weather on Day Five took a heavy toll of the hopes of the com peting World Trophy teams. The most tel1ing examples were that of France , and Belgium who .started Day Five in fourth and fifth places, respectively. By the end of the day all six French riders had retired while the Belgians lost four of six. Holland, which had been third in the standings, lost three of their six riders. The Silver Vase competition also narrowed down when Da y Five rolled around. East Germany emerged from the rain and mud with an apparent decisive margin of some 1,700 points over the rival Czech team. However, for some unexplained reason that ap' pears more than coincidental, the East Germans lost 1,740 route points on relatively easy Day Six while the Czechs lost none. The end result was that the Czechs took the Silver Vase competition also. TheIoss of Larry Thompson from our Yamaha sponsored Silver Vase Team on Day One spelled woe for the U.S . effort which was saddled with l5,OOO points 'per day for the loss of a rider. Chris Carter, John ' Fero and Mark Deyo rolled on with Carter and Fero going out on Day Five and Deyo ta king a Bronze. We finished 10th of 15 entries. In Manufacturers Team corn petition Cycle East , representing Husqvarna, topped the Penton A eifort. The deciding factor here was the retirement of Frank Gallo on Day Three while Tom a nd J ack Pent on went on to Gold and Silver medals, respectively. Cycle East's winning team was led by Gold medalist Dick Burleson and Bronze medalist Bob Popiel with teamster Greg Davis . retiring on Day Five. ' The organization of the ISDT in Czechoslovakia, its eighth time hosting the event and the first time in Slovakia, left little to be desired. Two years of preparation, mainly by "volun teers." .had, virtually rebuilt what had originally been a quiet town in the foot hills of the Tatra Mountains into a showcase for ' western visitors that juxtaposed the old with the new . 00 CN I-< Q) ..0 S The trails were exceptionally well marked, and every time and stamp check manned with more than enough personnel. Rider safety was also a high priority with the organizers as they had an ambulance with a doctor and medical personnel at every time check. There were health service people almost everywhere one tu rn ed along the trails plus al1.:terrain vehicles in remote areas and a helicopter eq ui p· ed to evacuate inj ured from inac cessible places . In all, very impressive. In fact every thing to do with the Czech organization was impressive. However. one must note that' the organizers literally had the entire resources of the country at their disposal and nothing less than 100 % success in all phases would have satisfied those responsible. The exampie set by the Czechs will be hard, if not impossible. to follow by any western host. American team manager Al Eames set the tone of what the riders should expect in a meeting prior to the start of the event. "The Czechs unll play games wt'th your head with short checks and tight sections," said Eames. "They want to bring the Six Days back to a test on the trail. They'll make you feel like you're late . You'll gas it and then you'll crash and t hen you 'll hurt and then you'll slow and then you'll lose your Gold. T hat's exactly what they want. R em em ber, the whole ballgame doesn't me an a thing unless you finish that sixth day . .. . ' The fatigue of Day Five is written on Jack Penton's face . Jack slipped to Silver when a stretched chain caused him to lose time. Q) .... 0.. Q) crJ Kevin laVoie shows the Czech spectators how to spew a muddy roo~r ta il as he crosses the bog on Day Two. The course featured little swampy terrain. Rod Bush cleans the mud and grime of Day Five off with a little help from a friend. The impromptu shower arrangement had plenty of use. 7

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