ISDE 2024 Results: France rock solid on treacherous day three tests

Day three results from the 2024 FIM International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) in Spain where the French World Trophy team put in a rock steady ride on treacherous new tests to extend their lead while USA attack Spain for second – Josep Garcia among the many crashers but wins the scratch.

2024 ISDE Spain day 3 in a nutshell:

Day three of the Six Days usually means fresh tests bringing a change of scene and a relief for riders after the battered course they’ve left behind. Heading south out of the paddock, once again in the dark and rain for the lead riders at least, the route was still a long one with 240 kilometres and eight hours on the card.
It was a day which included tricky transfers (some of which were cut out for the Women and Club riders) and an impressive rock garden “jump”. Familiar to the Spanish and many world championship riders from both directions, it needed decent cojones to clear it (mainly because coming up short was a bad idea!). Most impressive were riders from America and Australia sending it blind on the first lap.

View this post on Instagram

The rain played a part today but so did different dirt and terrain. Slick in a different way, when the rain was falling, the new tests twisted and turned through woods, featured lots of ups and downs, roots and crashes were common across the classes.
No-one was immune including the runaway benchmark riders this Six Days, Josep Garcia and Steve Holcombe. Both had their ups and down but it was Holcombe who had the more costly day when he bent a brake disc, putting him late in teo the next test and though he matched Garcia on the second half of the day it was already too late, the Spaniard finished 20 seconds ahead. Theo Espinasse clocked anotehr impressive third scratch today, leading team France.
The tricky-as-hell conditions brought out some mixed results across the six tests but the French creme still sits on top. It’s a short list of riders clocking in with such an impressively low total tally and no other team has such collective consistency.
The net result is France extend their lead to 7’07.02 and look good for this. Halfway is still a very long way at ISDE but they are rock solid.
The big news of the day, apart from the multitude of crashes, is a determined response from the USA World Trophy team to Spain’s podium leapfrog move on day two. The gap of 40 seconds has reduced to just eight in this podium fight and has the two, arguably best-supported national teams fully occupied.
Team Australia remains fourth, 17 minutes adrift of the leaders with Czech Republic occupying a solid fifth in the World trophy competition.
The Junior World Trophy contest is following form with the Swedish boys steadily but surely extending their lead over France by half a minute today to give themselves just over two minutes advantage. The Ahlin, Norrbin and Semb trio might not be running away with it like they were expected to this ISDE – the French Juniors are seeing to that – but they are playing smart, minimising mistakes and all the while impressing with test times in the thick of the World Trophy riders.
It is a similar story in the Women’s World Trophy where USA are edging an advantage, day-by-day. As ever in recent years, USA have their taliswomen Brandy Richards leading the way with yet another day win. She gave us one of the best quotes after the day too: “Not too slippery.” We reckon Brandy was riding in Southern Spain by mistake!
Local knowledge helped team Spain’s lead rider Mireia Badia to second scratch today, just under a minute adrift of Richards. Kiwi, Rachel Archer finished the day 10 seconds behind home heroin Badia in her first ISDE, first race in Europe and in New Zealand Women’s first Six Days.
Team Italy now have almost 12 minutes advantage in their dominant Club team award pursuit. The trio of EnduroGP regulars are flying and handsomely lead the French Le Puy en Valey Club squad second who in turn continue to feel the heat from the American GTBN team.