Day 2, which saw the riders take to the same lap and tests as Day 1 - although under much sunnier and warmer skies - left many members of the team fatigued as mechanical and physical niggles began to creep in.
After his superb start to the event on Day 1 which saw him take 4th Overall and 2nd in the E1 class, Jamie McCanney continued his strong run of form by clocking 6th place Overall today and remaining 2nd in the E1 class. The young Manxman rode with his usual finesse and the crowd at the Cross Test in particular were left in awe of his style.
The biggest news of the day however came from the Junior Team where, after just two tests, Josh Gotts was forced to retire. The Cornish youngster, who ahead of the event was thrilled and honoured to have been selected, was left heartbroken after head-gasket failure on his bike.
The Junior Team are now left with just three riders, although they managed to keep their spirits high after putting in some very respectable results. ISDE rookie James Dent said he felt “a lot more comfortable” with his bike on Day 2 after some nerves on the opening day of the event. His more relaxed and flowing style saw him set the Junior Team’s fastest time. Lee Sealey was next up, despite a rear brake problem towards the end of day. The final member of the team Rob Johnson remained positive, although he admitted sore hands would make tomorrow “trickier”. The Junior Team slipped to 6th place today, but with just 7 seconds to Team Italy in 5th place, the Top 5 is still well within their sights - although without Gotts it will make the coming days more arduous for the remaining three riders.
Following on from McCanney’s fast pace, David Knight was 2nd fastest for the GB Trophy Team - 17th Overall today, just fractions of seconds away from 16th, and 7th in the E2 class. Welsh pairing Jamie Lewis and Tom Sagar were once again very evenly matched on time. Although Six Days stalwart Sagar said he thought the route would be “very tough” tomorrow as it gets more and more churned up - especially if the rain comes! Jack Rowland stuck close to his Welsh team-mates on time, providing nice consistency for the team. Despite sadly losing Joe Wootton yesterday the Trophy Team still managed to move up one place from 7th to 6th.
Tomorrow the riders will take to the same course, but in the reverse direction, with one test taken away and another added in. The threat of heavy rain remains and as the riders begin to tire concentration and consistency will be key.