Day 5: Injuries, illness take their toll on AMA Team USA
10/17/2009
The U.S. World Trophy Team’s quest to return to the podium in this year’s ISDE too a major blow, as the team succumbed to injuries and illness on Day 5. The U.S. Trophy Team, which finished third in last years Greek ISDE, dropped to seventh place, giving up two positions, when Timmy Weigand and Damon Huffman soldiered on under difficult circumstances.
“Obviously we’ve had some problems today,” said U.S. Trophy Team member Kurt Caselli. “Everybody is tired. Everybody is trying as hard as they can. My hats off to the whole team for giving it their all. Especially to Timmy (Weigand) and Damon (Huffman.) They both deserve gold medals for just finishing today.”
AMA Team USA’s chances did not look good for moving up in the standings as they sat in fifth place going into Day 5 behind France, Italy, Australia and Sweden when stomach-flu like symptoms kept Weigand up all night with a temperature as high as 103 degrees, severe stomach cramps and dehydration.
Weigand became sick over night and had requested the attention of AMA Team USA physician James McGee, who diagnosed Weigand with a food-borne illness. Despite the problems, Weigand started the day but had other difficulties when he broke his right index finger losing both his finger nail and exposing the bone during a crash on a technical trail section.
“First I was up all night with the (stomach) flu and a high fever,” Weigand said. “But I said to myself that I was starting today no matter what even though I was still cramping pretty bad when I got up. Then on one of the day’s early trail sections, I crashed on some roots where I smashed my right hand and finger between the handlebars and a tree root.”
Huffman had his own injuries to deal with as a severe case of tendonitis in both forearms had reached the point where he could barely hold onto the motorcycle.
Huffman said: “Back home I would have called it quits after the beating my forearms took in the long whoop sections on Day-three and four. Today it was all I could do to just hold on. Every time I had to pull back on the handlebars my arms felt like they were going to break. The doctor numbed them up before the start this morning but that only helped for so long.”
Due to their physical conditions, Weigand and Huffman’s Day 5 scores were about 5% higher than their average class scores from Day 1 through Day 4 as the two finished the penultimate day of the six-day event under conditions that arguably could have warranted retirement. Weigand and Huffman both agreed they intended to ride Day 6 and finish the event.
Caselli used Day 5 of Six Days to finish the second overall, setting the fastest times in the E3 class three times, second fastest times twice and third and fifth fastest times in the other two tests.
“Today (Day 5) was like a new beginning for me,” Caselli said. “It was all new trails with all new tests. One of my best times came in the enduro test where I finally got things right.”
Caselli’s weakest test scores this week came in his enduro tests scores where he said he just didn’t feel comfortable. Caselli’s other top time came in the final beach test where he set the overall fastest time. For the event, Caselli sits in seventh overall and fourth in the E3 class.
Caselli made conciliatory comments for the U.S. Trophy Team on the eve of the final day which will feature about 120 kilometers of casual trail and a 20 minutes final moto.
“As it turns out, this year’s Six Days was not one of our best efforts. But that effort is still moving forward,” Caselli said. “Right now, we have to just finish as a team and get to the final motocross (test). Then we can start planning for next year in Mexico.”
Caselli added: “Along with Timmy and Damon, I would also like to thank Ricky (Dietrich), who went out on Day 1, and Nate (Kanney) for riding on this year’s (Trophy) team. It didn’t actually turn out the way we wanted, but they all gave it their best.”
In the U.S. Junior Team division, the AMA Team USA finished Day 5 again in third place behind the efforts of Russell Bobbitt, Jamie Lanza and Cory Buttrick. Conservative final moto scores by all three riders should put them on the podium.
The threesome turned in consistent test times, led by the efforts of Buttrick who scored the second-fastest test time in the E1 class in one of his tests that was good enough for fourth overall fastest time. David Kamo, the other U.S. Junior Team member, retired on Day 2 with a faulty ignition.
Buttrick, who is competing in his first ISDE said: “I’m excited about up my scores today. I had some problems earlier in the week, but I’m finally making things happen.”
The U.S. Women’s World Cup team found itself in fourth place again where AMA Team USA’s Maria Forsberg moved in to second place in the women’s division.
U.S. Club team riders Rory Sullivan, Fred Hoess, Jordan Brandt, Brian Sperle and Nick Fahringer all remained on gold-medal pace in the three-rider club team division. Again, Team Carter Engineering is the top performing U.S. club team where they moved up to tenth place overall.
Thirty of 34 American riders who started the Six Days on Monday this year are scheduled to start the final day.
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Timmy Weigand crashed in one of his special tests.
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Timmy Weigand grimmaces while receiving medical attention from AMA Team USA's medical doctor Jame McGee.
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One of AMA Team USA's service checks.
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Russell Bobbitt during the last "beach" special test that was run at the end of Day 5.
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AMA Team USA riders Kurt Caselli, Destry Abbott and Russell Bobbitt sign autographs as the end of Day 5.
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