By Day 5 , Richards was continually running untouchable lap times with teammate Gutish catching up quickly . With Gallegos finally in her flow , all three women looked confident heading into the Day 6 moto , one day closer to the reality of capturing the top box .
“ It ’ s basically like we ’ ve done the work at this point ,” said an excited Gutish . “ I ’ d like to not get lapped on the moto track , so those are really my two goals ; if I don ’ t get lapped and I finish the moto , that ’ s really all l care about . I don ’ t know how to whip , so I can ’ t really throw any sick whips for the crow , so I ’ m just going to ride and do my thing and hope one of these days they do and EnduroCross final moto for me !”
After six days of enduring the most grueling conditions , the US Women ’ s team finished on top , a solid 15-minute lead over the competition , bringing the ISDE trophy back to the American soil for another year .
“ Today ’ s been the cherry on an awesome ISDE cake for me ,” said an enthusiastic Richards after her inspiring week-long performance , seeing her finish as the only rider in the history of the event to win every test . “ I ’ ve managed to win each and every special test during this year ’ s ISDE . It ’ s what I set out to do , and I ’ ve done it . It ’ s pretty surreal , it hasn ’ t really sunk in yet . I really upped my training ahead of this event , and it paid off . As a team , we did great ; we ’ ve all ridden well and to win for Team USA is awesome .”
Team Great Britain would narrowly secure a 53-second lead over Team Spain for second place , with Team Portugal following 32 minutes behind in fourth and Team Sweden almost an hour back in fifth place .
" Brandy had an outstanding individual performance , winning every test and just crushing the women ’ s division ," said Kallonen . " That was her goal coming in , the individual overall , and she did that and much more . But it ’ s not a solo race . To win a team championship , you need a team . I ’ m really pleased on Rachel Gutish . I think she performed the best she ’ s ever raced ; no mistakes , solid , and that ’ s what really brought us the championship , having a solid two scores every day .
Our completely new rookie as well , was Britney Gallegos , from the West Coast . I think she did well , all things considered . I know she ’ s tough ; she will not quit . She will make it through , no matter what . I was happy to see the team really work well together ."
303 BRITNEY GALLEGOS - TEAM USA 1ST WWT / 15TH INDIVIDUAL WWT
ON THE PEGS // PAGE 78