US Women Win a Record Seventh ISDE Title as Italy Takes the World Trophy in Portugal
Italy repeated as World Trophy champion at the Six Days in Portugal, while the US Women's team took a record seventh title and Team USA missed the World Trophy podium by about 25 seconds.
Six days of timed enduro tests, and Team USA's men missed the World Trophy podium by about 25 seconds. The 2026 FIM 6Days Enduro of Nations (still called the ISDE by most of us) wrapped up in Portugal on Saturday, October 17, and the results are a mix of heartbreak and history for the Americans (Cycle News).
The headline results
- World Trophy: Italy won for the second year in a row. France was second and Sweden third, with the United States fourth, roughly 25 seconds behind Sweden.
- Junior World Trophy: Italy first, the United States second (Toby Cleveland, Cooper Jones and Jason Tino), Spain third.
- Women's World Trophy: The United States won with Brandy Richards, Rachel Gutish and Korie Steede, a record seventh title. Australia was second, about 9 minutes 24 seconds back, and France third.
- Individual overall: Italy's Andrea Verona won the six-day overall.
Seventeen countries sent World Trophy teams, and the field was around 500 riders from 30 countries.
Dante Oliveira's final-day win
The last day moved to a motocross-style race on the sand at Vasco da Gama beach in Sines. Dante Oliveira of the US won the race for the fastest World Trophy riders, finishing just 0.46 seconds ahead of Verona. That's less than half a second at the end of six days of riding. The team result slipped away earlier in the week, but the race win says plenty about how fast the Americans were when it counted.
Brandy Richards was the fastest woman overall, and she was already winning against the clock midweek: on Day 5 she took the women's overall by 28 seconds over Australia's Danielle McDonald (Dirt Bike Magazine).
The US club teams went 1-2-3-4
One more result worth flagging: American club teams finished 1-2-3-4 in the club standings, led by Team Rabaconda, followed by Missouri Mudders and GTBN. That's a lot of weekend riders and private teams earning a result next to the national squads.
What a Six Days teaches the rest of us
You will never ride tests in Portugal against a field of national teams, but the format has a lesson for every trail rider. The Six Days is a reliability race as much as a speed race. Riders do their own work on the bike in a short service window, and a time penalty for a mistake can erase a day of pushing hard. Finishing on time with a healthy bike beats a heroic first half.
That's the same trail math you face on a long Saturday loop. Carry the tools to fix a flat, check your pressure before you start, and you stay in the ride when someone else is pushing a bike back to the truck.
Gear worth having
- JACO Elite Low Pressure Tire Gauge — correct pressure is free traction and fewer flats.
- Tusk Tire Iron Kit with Carry Bag — the kit that turns a flat from a walk-out into a ten-minute fix.
- Nelson-Rigg Trails End Fender Bag — somewhere to keep the tube and tools that isn't your pockets.
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Track your own six days
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