L : R Kiwis at the ISDE : Taylar Rampton , Kylie Dorr , Chris Birch , Rachael Archer and Liam Ellis
Rachael Archer
Brandy Richards after an incredible six days of brutal racing in the Galicia region , on the Atlantic coastline in the north-west of Spain . Archer managed to tap into any left-over reserves of energy to significantly cut her deficit to Richards on the final day , which featured a motocross , an aspect of off-road motorcycle racing that is considered faster but arguably less technical . The rider who finished the ISDE third overall in the women ’ s rankings was Australia ’ s Jessica Gardiner , ending the event just a little under five minutes behind the hard-charging Archer . Archer was not only overall runner-up in the individual standings for the women , but she wound up an astonishing 54th overall ( when ranked alongside the men , with more than 570 riders in total at the event ). “ It felt good to win a special test ( a tightlytimed sprint section ) at this event ,” said Archer . “ I felt like I rode decent and didn ’ t crash , so put in a solid ride . “ It ’ s been a cool first ISDE for me . I didn ’ t really set any goals or expectations for myself coming into the week . I just wanted to learn and gain as much experience as I could . I feel like I ’ ve done that and also shown some speed .”
Dorr was meanwhile classified 28th individual in the WWT class ( and also finished 129th overall alongside the men ), while Rampton was forced to drop out after Day Five with an injury , but was still credited with finishing 30th overall among the women ( and 137th overall when counted alongside the men , easily within the top third of competitors at the ISDE this year ). “ New Zealand was so close to having a rider on top of the podium !” exclaimed team manager Justin Stevenson afterwards , “ Rachael Archer ! Second overall and second in the final motocross race by just eight seconds . Have we ever done better ? “ Rachael was 54th overall out of 570 starters and 18th in the E1 bike category , second woman by less than three minutes after six days of racing ! Not the dream result for Team New Zealand , but close ,” said Stevenson . “ Kylie Dorr is an absolute legend , battling through one of the toughest ISDE events ever , and Taylar Rampton being injured on Day Three put us back in 10th ( as a team ) but her speed in the tests shows that the NZ women have the potential to all be on the podium next year in Italy . “ The Kiwi girls were featured on the front page
62 KIWI RIDER