U.S. ISDE Team In Argentina, Primed
For Tough 97th ISDE
T
he tests have been walked.
The bikes have been tested,
teched and impounded (after
they finally got here due to
shipping delays). The opening
ceremonies have been enjoyed
by all, and the 97th FIM Interna-
tional Six Days Enduro (ISDE) in
San Juan, Argentina, is ready to
get racing underway in hours.
In the run-up to what promises to
be a tough week in an inhospitable
desert with rising temperatures, the
U.S. ISDE team is, as a whole, ready
and anxious to roll wheels, quietly
confident of success.
A field of 321 riders is officially
entered in the oldest-running off-
road race on the FIM calendar,
and the U.S. squad potentially
figures to be among the front-
runners in all categories.
They'll need to be to best
the challenge of France, whose
World Trophy (WT) team won
here in 2014, as well as Great
Britain, the defending WT champ.
But the U.S. WT quartet of
Johnny Girroir, Cole Martinez, Dante
Oliveira and Taylor Robert have
proven speed individually as well as
championship-winning experience,
and the last three are especially fa
-
miliar with the desert, being based
in the Southwest of the U.S.
Argentina, however, will be the
final Six Days for Robert as a pro
-
fessional rider, having announced
his retirement a few days ago.
As he said in a KTM press re-
lease, "This will be my 11th ISDE
alongside [U.S. Trophy Team
Manager] Antti [Kallonen]. Last
year was the only one that I've
missed—due to injury—and it's
been my favorite race of the year
since Kurt Caselli took me under
his wing in 2010.
"I really had no knowledge
coming into it, but it turned out
to be a very important part of my
career. It took me a few years to
get there, and 2016 was when
I won my first individual overall
and class as well, which I won
the next three years in a row.
"To look back and see where
WIND
IN THE
P24
World Trophy team riders (L-R) Dante
Oliveira, Taylor Robert and Trophy Team
Manager Antti Kallonen lead the U.S.
contingent in last night's Parade of
Nations at the opening ceremonies of the
97th ISDE in San Juan, Argentina.
PHOTOS: MARK KARIYA
