Brive, FRANCE – At the end of an eventful opening day at the 92nd running of the International Six Days Enduro (ISDE) in Brive, France, FMF KTM Factory Racing Team’s Taylor Robert is currently placed second overall in the event’s individual classification, just six seconds behind overall fastest rider Christophe Nambotin. Robert’s USA World Trophy teammate, Kailub Russell (FMF KTM Factory Racing Team), endured a challenging day to place ninth in the Enduro 2 class.

With the loss of Thad Duvall from the World Trophy team a huge disappointment for all involved in the USA ISDE effort, the opening day of the 92nd ISDE in Brive nevertheless turned out to be a good one for Taylor Robert. Overall fastest rider at last year’s ISDE in Spain, Robert successfully completed what was a long and demanding opening day in the mountains surrounding Brive to finish as the overall second fastest rider, a result of significant importance as Taylor will now start at the front of the entry on day two.

Taylor Robert: “It’s hugely disappointing for everyone involved in the US team effort that Thad’s out. But it’s racing, right, crashes and injuries happen. I just hope Thad’s back up and racing soon. What’s done it done now, so I’m not going to dwell on it. Now I’m just focused on doing the best I can. I feel like I’ve had a good day and I’ve put myself in a good position to challenge for the overall. Last year was tough because as well as wanting a good individual result I was also mindful of doing my part for the team. Now I can go for it and see what I can do in the overall. Today, I tried to push as hard as I could. I was able to follow some French riders into the tests, which was good, but the dust was pretty bad in places. Out of the five tests I caught riders in three tests. But I kept it upright and managed to stay focused on the trails. It was so easy to make mistakes – there was a lot of road work, and it was easy to follow the road and not the track arrows. Anyways, day two will be tough but I’m just going to do my best and stay focused. I’m loving riding the 500, so I’m hoping for a good week.”

Frustratingly, day one didn't go as multi-GNCC champion Kailub Russell hoped it would. One of a number of riders to be badly affected by the dust of riders ahead of him in the special tests, numerous mistakes in the day’s second test saw Russell lose valuable time. Kailub finished the day ninth in Enduro2.

Kailub Russell: “I guess my day started out pretty good. A bunch of us missed some track arrows right off the start and took a wrong trail, which certainly got the heart rate up. That test went ok, I stayed up on two wheels and got a decent time. I saw that Thad was hurt there, so I knew things weren’t good for him. That was a bummer for everyone. I had three big mistakes on the second test and gave up 35 seconds to the winner there. The tests were pretty short, and it was hard to take back time. It certainly wasn’t the day I was hoping for, but with the dust being as bad as it was on most of the tests, and with slower riders in there too, I’m just pleased to be finished in one piece and ready to start over again on day two.”

Together with Australian Daniel Milner, Taylor Robert and Kailub Russell topped the Manufacturer’s Team Award on day one with team KTM 2.

Finishing third in the Women’s World Trophy class there were mixed fortunes among the US riders. With Rebecca Sheets failing to finish the day, the combined performances of Kacy Martinez and Brandy Richards saw the USA place ahead of France, Sweden and Italy and hold a provisional podium result.

Kacy Martinez: “My day went pretty well. I tried to stay as consistent as I could. My best times came on the enduro test, but really my focus was on getting through the first day without any issues. With this being my first ISDE a lot was new for me, so I just wanted to kind of feel my way into it. The track is seriously rough already, day two is going to be really hard. Overall, I enjoyed the first day. It was a little different to be riding on the roads like we did, but it was also nice to get a break from the trails.”

Brandy Richards: “Thankfully, things weren’t quite as difficult as I was expecting. But they were still pretty tough, especially the tyre changing at the end of the day. It was a long day but I managed to stay on time, so I was happy about that. I was a little surprised at how quickly the terrain deteriorated, but overall it was a good start.”

Day two of racing will continue on Tuesday, Aug. 29 from Brive, France. For more details on Day 1 results and timing, please visit the official website for the 92nd running of the ISDE.