CN
III ARCHIVES
T
hree weeks before Seattle-
area grunge rock band
Nirvana burst into the conscious-
ness of rock music fans every-
where, their hard-driving dirges of
discontent sinking the good ship
"Hair Metal" with a single plaid
torpedo, four young Americans
rocked and rolled their way to the
top of the charts in the Olympics
of off-road motorcycling, the In-
ternational Six Day Enduro, held
in September 1991.
In fact, the U.S. Junior World
Trophy team's victory at the 66th
running of the ISDE, in Povazska
P98
FINDING ISDE GOLD: 1991
JR. WORLD TEAM VICTORY
World team of Steve Hatch, David
Rhodes, Chris Smith and Jimmy
Lewis (Junior World Trophy team
riders must be under 23 years of
age to be eligible) were strangers
in a strange land. No surprises,
then, when host country Czecho-
slovakia stood atop the Junior
World standings at the end of day
one, with 142.45 points, followed
closely by France, on 154.98. The
Bystrica, Czechoslovakia—try say-
ing that fast 10 times—was not unlike
the miracle on ice that took place
when the U.S. hockey team took
down the Russians for the gold
medal at the 1980 Winter Games
in Lake Placid, New York. Only
this time, there was no home-court
advantage, something that the pre-
vious Silver Vase-winning (later re-
placed by the Junior World Trophy)
team of Malcolm Smith, Ron Bohn,
Ed Schmidt and Dick Burleson had
enjoyed, environmentally speaking,
in Massachusetts during the 1973
ISDE. This time, the young Junior
(L-R) Chris Smith, Steve Hatch,
David Rhodes, Jimmy Lewis and
Team Manager Alan Randt celebrate
winning the ISDE Junior World
Trophy in Czechoslovakia in 1991.
BY SCOTT ROUSSEAU
