Steve Holcombe
of newspapers everywhere over here . Enduro racing is bigger than rugby in Spain .”
THE KIWI MEN There was no Kiwi men ’ s team entered this season , but Kiwi fans will be pleased to note that Thames rider Chris Birch ( KTM ), a former winner of the famous Red Bull Romaniacs hard enduro in Romania , who is riding as part of the KTM All Star Team in the “ Club ” grade , finished the event 35th among the Club riders . Palmerston North rider Liam Ellis was the only other New Zealand rider listed among the entries and he was racing his KTM motorcycle in the C2 Club grade as part of a three-rider Oceania squad . Ellis also moved up in the individual standings within the Club grade , settling at a remarkable 49th overall ( up from 68th overall earlier in the event ) when the six days finally wrapped up .
OVERALL Team France won the premier World Trophy ( WT ) class ahead of the United States and Spain . In the Junior World Trophy ( JWT ) class , Team Sweden won ahead of France and the
United States . In terms of individual honours , Spain ’ s Josep Garcia claimed the overall victory at the 98th edition of the ISDE . The reigning EnduroGP World Champion dominated five of the six race days , including a winning ride in the final motocross , to secure a record-breaking fourth consecutive outright individual ISDE victory . Carrying the form from his EnduroGP championship-winning year , Garcia wasted no time in getting to grips with the tough conditions seen on the first day of competition . Throwing down the gauntlet , Garcia topped the time-sheets on Day One by close to nine seconds over his nearest rival , Britain ’ s Steve Holcombe ( Honda ). Day Two saw the riders tackle the same , extremely cut-up tests from the day before . Again , the battle raged on between Garcia and Holcombe . This time , the Brit got the upper hand , with Garcia less than two seconds back , successfully defending his overall race lead . From Day Three onwards , Garcia put his head down and never looked back .
KIWI RIDER 65