VOL. 54 ISSUE 35 SEPTEMBER 6, 2017 P65
all. I lost 35 seconds in one test and
that put me 40-some seconds down
going into the third test. The times are
so close this year the way the tests are
set up, you're not going to make up
that kind of time," he said.
The first day set the week's tone
for Kailub Russell who found himself
slowed by a number of slower riders
he'd catch in the tests. Then, "The
second test I pretty much threw any
hopes away of competing for the over-
about doing well, you have to rail
the tests. Since competitors aren't
allowed to pre-ride any section of
the course, that means walking
the tests, often multiple times. This
year's race featured 10 tests, each
several miles long, and the U.S.
World Trophy, Juniors and Women—
as well as a few Club riders—each
walked them. Taylor Robert kept
track of the mileage hoofed via an
app, and it totaled astounding num-
bers: nearly 58 miles walked over
the course of some 37 hours!
Cody Webb is no stranger to rac-
ing in Europe, whether it's extreme
enduros or in previous stints as
a member of the U.S. Trial des
Nations team. Still, he and others
were surprised at the reception he
received in Brive-la-Gaillarde. "It's
definitely unusual," he insisted.
"Like I'll go to [watch] a local super-
cross and two people will recognize
me and they're my buddies! It's
really weird for people to recognize
off-road racers. I come here to
Europe and in the parade [of nations
at opening ceremonies], all these
people on the side—I don't know if
they're riders or spectators or what,
but they're asking me for photos and
selfies. It's pretty cool; I'm not even
here as part of the Trophy team. It's
crazy to think how that hard enduro,
extreme stuff has kind of escalated
[our exposure]. It's cool to be here
and try something different. I really
want to work on my sprint speed
and stuff.
First-time Six Days rider Rick Emer-
son on the Elizabeth Scott Com-
munity team of Senior riders had a
problem and needed to re-impound
but finished out the week. Despite
the mechanical woes, he exclaimed,
"I think it's the most exciting thing
I've ever done on two wheels! I've
been around: BMX in the '70s, moto
in the '80s through the '90s, enduro
in the '90s. It's unbelievable. I'm in
for next year! It's one thing to be on
the U.S. Ski Team for 10 years…and
it was a bucket list thing to be on the
U.S. enduro team."
Assigned to E1, it
took Ryan Sipes a
day or two to get
used to his Husky
FE 250 compared
to the FX 350 he
normally races. He
was fifth overall.
Kailub Russell was seventh E2 after
toning his pace down a bit after
Thad Duvall got hurt.
