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OFF-ROAD. 70th International Six Day Enduro Jelenia Gora, Poland By KIt Palmer Photos by Steve Berkner and Palmer ]ELENIA CORA, POLAND, SEPT. 18-23 he "I" in ISDE might just as well stand for "Italy." After all, the Italians pretty much rule the sport, at least as of late. For the second year in a row, and for the third time in the last four years, a six-man team from Italy emerged victorious at what is one of the most prestigious motorcycle sporting events in the world - certainly in the off-road arena - the International Six Day Enduro, this year held in the former Eastern Bloc nation of Poland. Despite seeing some of Italy's - as well as the world's - best enduro riders withdraw from the event shortly before it started due to internal team politics, the Italians were still able to hurriedly pu t together a teaII\ good enough to give their country its 10th ISDE title since the first event was held in 1913 in Scotland. Perhaps the most notable Italian who did not compete was 250cc World Enduro Champion Giovani Sala, a former ISDE overall winner. But the absence of Sala did not hurt the team in the long mn. "We have many good riders," said Tulio Pelligrinelli, a member of the winning Italian Trophy team. "Just like how America rules supercross with guys like Jeremy McGrath, we do the same but with enduros." The Italian Trophy team, consisting . of Pelligrinelli, Gianmarco Rossi, Arnaldo Nicoli, Giorgio Grasso,- Giuseppe Gallino and Paolo Fellegara, jumped out to an early lead after day one but could never really relax until the final moto in the MX special test on day six was over, because the French Trophy team was nipping at their heels the whole way. But when it was all over, the Italians proudly waved their country's red, white and green flag high in front of the thousands of people who turned out for the final day's activities. Only slightly more than 200 points separated Italy from runner-up France, a far cry from the 700-plus cushion the Italians had over Sweden last year when they won in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A distant third went to next year's ISDE host country of Finland. . And what about the U.S. Trophy team? Well, it was pretty much the same old song and dance for the Stars and Stripes - a country still seeking its first ISDE Trophy team victory. The capable U.S. squad, made up of five-time National Enduro Champion Randy Hawkins, National Reliability Enduro Champion Rodney Smith, defending National Enduro Champion Steve Hatch, ISDE veterans Chris Smith and Jason Dahners, and ISDE rookie Greg Zitterkopf, was running a promising fifth for much of the week before problems struck, something the U.S. is all too familiar with at the Six Days. A mechanical failure put Hatch out of the running on a rainy and gray day four, while a gummed-up throttle, combined with muddy conditions and the flu, saw Zitterkopf drop more than 30 route points on the same day. The U.S. team started day five in 10th and would stay there til the end. The U.s. Junior World team - Brian and Pat Garrahan, Scott McLaughlin and James Gray - didn't fare much better. Chain problems, resulting in a holed engine case, forced McLaughlin out of the event on day two, and along with chain problems on Brian Garrahan's motorcycle the same day, effectively held the U.S. team back to ninth at the finish. However, the Junior World' division NI H T Rodney Smith patiently waits for the start of the 70th ISDE In Jelenia Gora, Poland. Six grueling days later, the U.S. Trophy team rider would claim - for the second time of his career - "Top American" honors.