The United States took third at the International Six Day Enduro in Finland last week behind Finland and Spain. Lead by E2 class champion Kurt Caselli, the Americans fought through one of the toughest ISDE's in history to claim the final spot on the podium.
"We came here to make the podium, and I'm real proud of my teammates as they never gave up," Caselli said. "A few of us who have done a few of these agree that this definitely is one of the toughest Six Days we've ever ridden, and to be on the podium feels great.
Caselli, who finished fourth overall but won the E2 class, was joined by Colton Udall, Russell Bobbitt, Destry Abbott, Jimmy Jarrett and Nathan Kanney on the American squad.
"It's also a plus that we all made it to the final moto (on Day Six)," Caselli said. "There were a few times this week that we weren't too sure a couple of our riders were going to even make it to the next day, but they all hung in there."
Out of the 28 riders who represented America at the ISDE across all classes, only four failed to reach the finish line. This year's ISDE saw torrential rains an extremely difficult course. The United States' 14% DNF rate, which is well below the overall event DNF rate of 28%, was quite an impressive feat.
U.S. Team Manager Bruce Wakeley said
"It's been a tough event for everybody, and our finish rate shows the U.S. riders have a lot of tenacity to just keep going when it gets tough. We try and tell all our riders that nobody gets a medal for finishing any one day. You only get a medal for making it to the final moto on Day Six, and this year that philosophy played out again as our riders kept working at it each day."
