Steve Holcombe tops the timesheets at 2024 FIM ISDE Day 2 – Team GB Report

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What a day! Day 2 of the 2024 FIM ISDE saw Dirt Store Team GB’s Steve Holcombe secure the day victory by 1.7 seconds ahead of Spain’s Josep Garcia, narrowing his gap in the overall running. Both the Junior and Women’s Trophy teams lie in sixth after the second day of racing in Silleda.

Words and Images by ACU Team GB ISDE

Starting off strong again on Day 2, Steve clocked two test-winning times near Santiago de Compostela to gain an early lead. A few second and third placed test results put Steve on the back foot temporarily, and heading into the final test of the day just 0.2 seconds separated the GB star and his rival Garcia. However, Steve remained completely unfazed and, with the support of Team Manager Jamie Lewis and Trophy rider Harry Edmondson, among many other members of Team GB, Steve put in an incredible lap to beat Garcia by three seconds and claim the Day 2 win by 1.7s. Just 7.3 seconds separate Holcombe and Garcia now after two days of racing, a number which Steve will look to reduce even more in the coming days.

Both Jack Edmondson and Josh Gotts had promising days, still settling into the event and clocking some impressive times. Josh Gotts is still struggling with an injury sustained to his fingers on Day 1, but he is pushing on through the pain. Jack had a few minor technical issues in the latter half of the day which he rectified at the penultimate time check, but unfortunately these affected his test times on lap two.

Day 2 saw the women settle into the tests a lot more, with all three riders making less mistakes than the day before to cement their position in sixth overall. Nieve’s second lap was especially impressive as she put in some strong test times. Emily had a consistent day after a big off yesterday, proving to everyone what she’s made of! Libby struggled with the condition of the tests as they got worse throughout the day. Despite this, she was determined to tackle them and secured a hard-earned finish for Day 2. The ISDE is a marathon, not a sprint, so it’s important to remember that anything can happen.

The Junior Trophy Team enjoyed another day riding together, with the boys arriving to every test and check together all day. The morale in the trio is really impressive and has definitely had a huge positive impact on their performance as a team to finish sixth overall. Max Ingham was our fastest junior rider today, finishing 16th in Junior and 45th overall. Sam Hughes finished just 2.5 seconds and one position behind Max, enjoying the enduro test more than anyone else! Sam Davies had one big off which lost him nearly two minutes of time meaning that the young Brit slipped down the order. The boys are raring to go for Day 3 and keen to get out on some new tests and transfers.

A shorter day of 212km awaits our riders on Day 3, with a new set of three special tests to tackle. Having walked the tests again this evening, the team is feeling really confident that the terrain will suit the British riders even more than Days 1 and 2 did.