Issue link: http://trailridermagazine.uberflip.com/i/1544109
USSE Sprint Enduro USSE Sprint Enduro East Coast Qualifier East Coast Qualifier Hephzibah, Georgia Hephzibah, Georgia By Jeff Debell & Rachel Gutish By Jeff Debell & Rachel Gutish Photos By Jade Casey Barnes Photos By Jade Casey Barnes 16 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com Round 2 of the USSE Sprint Enduro series descend- ed on Mac Daddy's XC Paradise in Hephzibah, GA, as the official East Coast ISDE qualifier. A couple of dozen Le er of Intent (LOI) riders joined the regular USSE crowd to vie for one of 8 club rider spots. An addi onal 8 spots remain open and will be selected following the West Coast qualifier in North Plains, OR. The final list should be complete by the me we go to press. In addi on to the LOI hopefuls and USSE regulars, a number of previously selected Trophy, Junior Trophy, and Women's Trophy riders were on hand to hone their skills in prepara on for the ISDE this fall in Portugal. This is the 100th running of the Six Days, so expect plenty of pomp and circumstance at the ISDE this year. Mac Daddy's is typical southeastern terrain with plenty of sand and rust-colored clay weaving through stands of longleaf pines. When dry, it's dusty. With a li le moisture, the course has stellar grip. In what seems to be a popular pa ern lately at the races, Mother Nature threw down a royal flush hand of hard rain on Saturday that turned the woods and cross tests into tests of rider skill, line selec on, and pure grit and determina on. The Pro and AA riders pre y much powered through the slop, but many B and C riders suffered con nually deteriora ng course condi ons to the point that the organizers pulled the plug a er only 2 laps of the cross test and 1 lap of the woods test. Thankfully, Sunday was dry and windy with the course improving as the second day progressed. Huge thanks to the course work- ers who labored un l nearly midnight on Saturday and were hard at it again before daybreak Sunday, re-rou ng around impassable lakes of mud and using a bulldozer to scrape the course down to somewhat dry and firm earth. The kids and minis got a first look at the course before the rain really se led in, and were treated to some really nice trail condi ons. I was doing backup scoring at the cross-course checkout, so I didn't get a chance to see the kids on the course, but just listening to the top 85 riders launching off the line was music to my ears. There's just not anything that compares to a small-bore two- stroke in full song, banging up through the gears. There's some real talent coming up through the ranks. On Sunday, I was able to spectate, and watching (and listening to) the 85s rip through the cross test was a real thrill that took me back 30 years to the last me I went to a European Six Days. I remembered the top 125 riders flying through the special tests with two modes... full thro le or full hard braking, nothing in between... and these young rippers have got it down pat, stretching the thro le cables and smoking the brakes. Very impressive! Johnny Girroir Johnny Girroir