Success for Italy continued on Day One of the 2026 FIM 6DAYS when they took control of the lead in the Junior World Trophy classification. As expected, the United States topped the MOTOREX Women’s World Trophy leaderboard in Grândola.
With the opening ceremony and final preparations complete, it was finally time to get down to the business end of the hundredth edition of the 6DAYS® FIM Enduro of Nations in Portugal as riders rolled off the start ramp early on Monday morning for the opening day of racing.
Day One would not be an easy introduction to this year’s 6DAYS® Portugal for around five-hundred competitors from thirty-seven nations present, with over two-hundred-and-seventy kilometres of riding and six special tests to complete. The dry and dusty conditions were also proving difficult to master for those starting lower down the running order.
Strong start for defending World Trophy champions Italy
In the World Trophy competition, Australia were the first of the leading nations to exit this year’s race with Korey McMahon (KTM) suffering a mechanical on the opening special test. At the front of the field, defending champions Italy were off to a flying start and leading the way by thirty seconds over France and Sweden in second and third, respectively.
As the day progressed, Italy continued to pile on the pressure as they aimed to capitalise on their early starting positions. A strong day by all four riders saw them end Day One with a one-minute-and-twenty-three-second lead over France. Behind the top two, Sweden closed out today in third.
A promising start by Great Britain put them into fourth overall, but they are already fifty seconds behind Sweden. The United States complete the top five, edging out Spain in sixth by less than one second.
“I’m really happy to get the overall win and to take the World Trophy lead with Italy,” said Andrea Verona (KTM). “My job this morning was to open almost every test, which helped a lot to stay out of the dust. But for the second lap, conditions were pretty tough out there. It’s nice to end Day One as the overall leaders; however, there is still a long way to go.”
Italy top Junior World Trophy classification on Day One
The Junior World Trophy class saw defending champions Italy set the pace on Day One to lead by almost one minute. Managing the dusty terrain best, the duo of Alberto Elgari (TM MOTO) and Manuel Verzeroli (TM MOTO) were able to finish in seventeenth and twenty-first overall, with teammate Kevin Cristino finishing thirty-fourth. However, Cristino injured his shoulder in a crash on the penultimate test, which may cause the Italians some trouble as the week continues.
“It was very dusty today,” said Verzeroli. “We were lucky as defending champions to start in the first group of Junior riders, but, for sure, it was tricky to get it right. Unfortunately, Kevin [Cristino] had a crash and injured his shoulder; luckily, he was able to finish the day. It’s not ideal, so we will see tomorrow how things go.”
Ending Day One as runners-up, France will look to close that gap to Italy tomorrow. The French provided some fierce competition to their rivals throughout the day and, knowing that Italy may have a weakness in Cristino, will be intent on applying further pressure tomorrow.
The United States got their 6DAYS® off to a solid start on Day One by finishing third. Although not quite matching the pace of Italy and France, they did have the measure of Spain in fourth, building up a forty-second advantage.
Spain looked to enjoy the dry and dusty conditions and hold a forty-eight-second lead over Australia in fifth. With only thirty seconds separating Australia, Chile, and Sweden, in fifth, sixth, and seventh, respectively, a place inside the top five is already proving fiercely contested.
Favourites United States lead MOTOREX Women’s World Trophy
As winners of the three previous 6DAYS®, there was no surprise to see the United States end Day One as the early leaders of the MOTOREX Women’s World Trophy class. An impressive performance sees them lead Australia in second place by three-minutes-and-two-seconds.
“I struggled at first to get used to the conditions,” said the United States’ Korie Steede (Husqvarna). “But once we made some changes to the bike, things began to work better and I was able to finish with a really good day. It’s still only early stages in the race, so we’ll keep pushing to build on what we have.”
While Australia will look to figure out how to bridge the gap to a hard-charging United States, they will be pleased to know that third-placed Great Britain trail them by over four minutes.
The remainder of the top five sees France in fourth, with a six-minute advantage over host nation Portugal in fifth.
Verona ends Day One with individual lead in 6DAYS® Portugal
In the outright individual classification, Verona topped the opening three special tests to eventually win today by almost thirty seconds. Lap two saw Spain’s Josep García (KTM) come on strong, winning special tests four and five to place as runner-up. Italy’s Morgan Lesiardo (Triumph) edged out France’s Zach Pichon (TM MOTO) by two seconds to finish in third.
The Enduro1 class saw García win on Day One, with Lesiardo and Italy’s Samuele Bernardini (Honda) placing second and third, respectively.
As the Day One outright winner, Verona also topped the Enduro2 category. He leads Pichon in second position by fifty-four seconds, with Sweden’s Max Ahlin (Honda) third.
The Enduro3 class was hotly contested on Day One, with France’s Julien Roussaly (Sherco) securing top honours by fifteen seconds over Great Britain’s Brad Freeman (Beta) in second. Sweden’s Albin Norrbin (Husqvarna) placed four seconds behind Freeman in third.
“To win Enduro3 is really good. My feeling on the bike was strong today, so I hope to continue like this,”said Roussaly. “Yes, the conditions were dusty out there, but it’s the same for everyone, so I must manage it as best I can.”
The Women’s class saw the United States place first and second overall, with Brandy Richards (KTM)and Steede leading everyone home on Day One. Australia’s Danielle McDonald (Yamaha) took third, finishing thirty-eight seconds behind Steede.
Team Rabaconda off to winning start in Club Team Award
In the Club Team Award class, it was Team Rabaconda who ended Day One in front. They lead Team Italy by thirty seconds and will look to build on that advantage during Day Two. Missouri Mudders complete the top three, with Cymru Wales A and GTBN in fourth and fifth, respectively.
The Czech Republic’s Team Motokrosova Skola CZ lead the way in the Veteran Club Team class by eight seconds over Gottbros Team. Cone Valve Team M.C. Sitge are over eleven minutes behind in third.
Day two with see a repeat of today’s course and tests, with conditions once again promising to be a real challenge for all those riders who survived the opening day.
