The U.S. Women’s World Trophy Team put a stamp on their dominant week-long performance Saturday to claim a major victory over Team Great Britain in the 2021 FIM International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) in Lombardy-Piedmont, Italy. Husqvarna Motorcycles-mounted Rachel Gutish had an exceptional week, finishing fourth overall in the Women’s category, while teammate and first-time ISDE competitor Britney Gallegos remained smooth and steady throughout the week to secure 15th overall in the Women’s division.
With a sizeable gap heading into the final motocross race, the U.S. Women had the title all but wrapped up and they continued to put their best foot forward on day six. Gutish, racing aboard the Husqvarna FX 350, finished a strong third in the four-lap motocross race, while Gallegos logged an impressive seventh aboard the Husqvarna FX 250.
“We’re obviously all very excited to have done so well, this week has really been a dream come true,” Gutish said. “For me, I’ve been to Six Days before but this was a new experience for me in that I came over with a team that was competitive to win. For me, getting to have that experience was beyond my wildest dreams. Standing up there on the podium while we were listening to our national anthem, words can’t describe that feeling. As far as the week, things went oddly smooth. I kept waiting for there to be some sort of catastrophe but I never had any problems on the trail. It was an uncharacteristically smooth week and I appreciated that. This is the best group of girls I’ve ever gotten to come over with. We really bonded as a team and Brandy and Britney were great, I’d love to come back with them next year.”
ISDE rookie, Britney Gallegos, made it through the weekend like a true veteran as she delivered consistent results throughout each of the six days. Getting stronger as the week went on, Gallegos finally broke into the top-10 on day five before further solidifying her presence on day six with a strong finish in the motocross race, climbing two positions in the WWT division to 15th.
“Today’s final moto was awesome, we got a fresh track so there were no lines out there and I was just kind of holding it wide and going after it,” Gallegos said. “I had a good time mixing it up with all these different girls, kind of got into a little bit of a slam but it was fun to get out there and mix it up and finish the day strong with a win for the team overall, so I’m happy.”
JUNIOR WORLD TROPHY TEAM (JWT)
Rockstar Energy Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Austin Walton had a solid start to the week as he helped the U.S. Junior World Trophy Team battle into second over after the first three days of racing. However, Walton suffered a big crash on the fourth day, forcing him to pull out with a broken scapula. As a result of the penalties associated with losing a rider, the U.S. team was no longer in contention for the overall standings but JWT riders Dante Oliveira (KTM) and Cody Barnes (Honda) both finished the week out strong with respectable results.
For a list of complete results from the 2021 International Six Days Enduro, please visit https://fim-isde.com/2021-results/.
Results – FIM International Six Days Enduro 2021
Women’s World Trophy Individual Results
1. Brandy Richards (USA) KTM, 4:36:27.62
2. Jane Daniels (GBR) Fantic, +9:38.32
3. Mireia Badia (ESP) GAS, +9:57.25
4. Rachel Gutish (USA) Husqvarna, +18:21.60
…
15. Britney Gallegos (USA) Husqvarna, +39:03.08
Women’s World Trophy Team Results
1. USA, 9:31:16.84 (Brandy Richards, Rachel Gutish, Britney Gallegos)
2. Great Britain, +15:02.63
3. Spain, +15:55.45
4. Portugal, +32:21.65
5. Sweden, +55:30.39