Catch Up - Taylor Robert ISDE Champion

Team USA Wins ISDE

Catching up with Taylor Robert, the man who won the ISDE…

Congratulations Taylor, how does it feel to be ISDE individual and team champion?

Taylor Robert: “It’s wild. It’s huge really. To get both done in the same year is crazy. It’s been such an intense week, I’m happy for myself but also for the team. There’s a lot going on right now!”

How were the stress levels coming into day six?

“Ah man, I was so stressed out, both for the team’s result and myself. It’s so easy for something to go wrong. I was just trying to keep focused and hold everything together.”

What’s it like to be on the winning team?

“Everyone is on cloud nine right now. We’re on a wave of happiness, relief, tiredness and celebration. We’ve had an amazing week. The team rode great all week. Granted we all made mistakes, got banged up bikes and bodies - everyone goes through that in the Six Days. But we never stopped putting out best effort in to get the job done and now finally we’ve won the thing!”

Aside from winning, what's been the highlight of your week in Spain?

“I won day three but I feel like day four was the most pivotal in winning the event outright. I crashed on the first test of the morning and lost a bunch of time. And then I spent the rest of the day trying to recover from that but also managed to gain time on Daniel Sanders too. I went from a two second lead to 26 second lead, which was a big confidence boost for me for sure.”

Did that recovery give you a feeling that you could go on and win the thing?

“Definitely. Once I got through that it changed my mind set and I felt that the end was in sight and I could make it. It was a bit of a game changer for me.”

Now your sixth ISDE, how has Spain compared to the rest?

“It’s probably been the most varied by far. Days one and two were so dry and dusty but then when the rain came conditions were so muddy and slippery. Then things dried out again and were really tacky. There was a big variety for sure. The transfers were fairly simple, easier than world championship stuff, but the enduro tests were really technical.”

Do you feel your year in Europe racing EnduroGP helped at the ISDE?

“Yeah I definitely feel it’s paid off here. I just felt so more in tune with things. But I was a bit bummed on my EnduroGP campaign. I had some highs but some lows too. But it was all added experience for an event like this. The enduro test on days three and four was one of the toughest I’ve ever raced but I knew how to ride it fast and not fall over and that came from EnduroGP.”