Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1542014
P104 INTERVIEW I 2025 AMA H&H AND AMA NGPC CHAMPION DANTE OLIVEIRA and seeing where you stack up against everybody." Contrary to many who find Six Days almost overwhelming when they first undertake it, Oliveira insists he considered it fairly easy to learn all that's involved in the race. "I think just being young [he was 18], that was all a breeze— just go with the flow. The hardest part was just the mental aspect, being able to finish the days, let alone the week. It's long days on the bike, then you see your name on the scoreboard; you don't even know who you're racing at first, but you want to be higher up on the board, and that fires you up. It's a lot of ups and downs! Even now, seven years after my first one, it's a lot of ups and downs. "But the different food and the different countries, that's all exciting for me." Oliveira has fond memories of his second Six Days, which was in Portugal in 2019, as he has family ties there and so looks forward to returning for the 2026 edition. for the first time in 2018 in Chile. This was a form of racing he was unfamiliar with grow - ing up. It wasn't until he'd been on big bikes that he learned of it through some of his friends who'd gone. "The Garrahan brothers did a ton of them. Brian would talk about it here and there, but, honestly, I never really knew much about it until my buddies from around here in Hollister were going. J.T. Baker went, the Lehrs went, Kale Elworthy, Alex Dorsey, [Anson] Maloney— once I started seeing them and watching videos of them all go, I started learning more about it, checking it out, and hearing sto - ries about their trips there and about going to their fundraisers. That's when I kind of got into it. "You hear about it being the biggest enduro in the world, kind of like the Olympics of motors - ports for off-road. That kind of got me a little fired up and want- ing to see what it's all about and representing our country ning. "That got our intensity up and a little more fight during the motos to push, and I think that made a huge difference." And what about racing pro mo - tocross? He's done remarkably well, going 15-12 for 13th overall at the AMA Pro Motocross Championship Series opener in 2023, his best result to date. He replies, "If there's an opportunity, I'm all ears, and I'm ready to go. Any time I'm able to line up on the gate with all those guys, it's a rush and an absolute blast and a challenge. It's no joke lining up on that 40-man gate. One of the biggest adrenaline rushes ever is taking off on that line. It's a gnarly group of guys and a very stacked field. I think we're plan - ning to do a few more." He didn't forget his hare scrambles roots and switched from WORCS to AMA WHS, win - ning the title in both 2023 and '24. Dante also dipped his boot into racing on an international stage, competing in the FIM Inter - national Six Days Enduro (ISDE) After being promoted to the U.S. World Trophy team, Oliveira has made an impact there as well, being part of the winning effort in 2023 in Argentina. This is from 2021 in Italy alongside Taylor Robert, KTM EnduroGP Team Manager Fabio Farioli and Spain's Josep Garcia. Oliveira learned the ISDE game well enough to lead the XC Gear team to the Club team win in 2019 in Portugal, his second Six Days.