France

FEARLESS FRENCH TAKE THE CROWN

The 92nd running of the FIM International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) in Brive, France, was a memorable one for the home nation, who took a clear victory in the FIM World Trophy despite being made to sweat through the final two days with Christophe Nambotin (KTM) forced to ride with broken bones in his hand.

Day one of the dramatic event saw defending champions the USA run into immediate trouble, with Thad Duvall (Husqvarna) crashing on the opening special test and badly injuring his left wrist. Along with Chile and Japan the USA were one of three teams who saw one of their riders’ fail to reach the finish of day one, whilst in stark contrast the French celebrated victory despite Loic Larrieu (Yamaha) picking up a one-minute time penalty.

Competing over the exact same course on day two, a French team that also included Jeremy Tarroux (Sherco) and Christophe Charlier (Husqvarna) extended their advantage over Australia to four minutes and nineteen seconds and then had three riders in the top four on day three as they edged further clear. France again dominated day four but their seemingly unstoppable charge to the title was thrown into doubt as Nambotin picked up a serious hand injury, allowing Australia to take a 28-second chunk out of their lead on day five. 

With questions over Nambotin's fitness for the final-day motocross races, even a sizeable seven-minute and thirty-two second cushion did not look safe although all four French riders made it to the line without problems, Nambotin producing one of the most hard-fought performances of the event to ensure the home nation took the spoils. Final day victory for Australia secured second  place ahead of Finland.