Rachel Gutish stands P3 overall in Women’s Enduro GP after Rounds 1 and 2 in Portugal. Hitting her stride early, the American Enduro/Sprint Enduro/GNCC/ISDE rider claimed her first ever victory in the Opening Round Stage 1 at Fafe followed by P2 in Stage 2 and in Round 2 – P8 and P3 – to secure 60 points for P3 in the Championship.
Such feats of accomplishment break precedent for an American women to stand top step of the podium – not seen since Taylor Robert won in 2016. And, with Rachel set to race the 5 Round Series, along with her racing commitments back home, the Sherco rider has opened pathways for women to dove-tail their schedules to include competing in Championships at home and overseas.
The results speak volumes on how Rachel has channeled all determination and courage to compete against Europe’s best women Enduro rider’s whose experience and knowledge of racing familiar tracks and race formats holds benefit from those new to the Championship.
As Rachel states after taking the win in Round 1 Stage 1: “‘The World Championship is a lot different than the ISDE. It’s a tough, long day, but I enjoyed it a lot. I wasn’t expecting to win, so to take the top step of the podium is a proud moment for me, for sure. I’m looking forward to tomorrow now and another good battle”‘.
Having honed skills and race-craft racing America’s GNCC WXC for the past 13 years, along with US Sprint Enduro’s and representing Team United States in ISDE – taking overall wins in 2021 and 2023 – Rachel has strength of mind to further develop her racing career competing in Women’s Enduro GP.
Reason being – Rachel enjoys pushing herself just outside known comfort zone as explained post Round 1. Rachel: “‘I had so much fun racing this format – with gnarly transfer trail, an EnduroCross/SuperEnduro style prologue on Friday, and an Extreme test, in addition to the usual Cross and Enduro tests”‘.
Maximizing her experience to race the following weekend’s Round 2 at Valpacos, Rachel’s diversity and adaptability was put to the test, with dry, dusty conditions, and also a mechanical failure to overcome. Completing the 2 days in P8 and P3, Rachel has consolidated her times to match her competitors, heading into the remaining 3 Rounds in Italy, Wales, and France from June through to September 13.
Rachel: “‘Third place at Round 4 of EnduroGP in Portugal! It felt especially good to come back with a podium after my mechanical issue the day before. This round featured a lot of dry and dusty hardpack – not exactly my strength, so I was happy to earn a podium and post a few competitive test times”‘.
From racing on European terrain to heading back to America to contest ISDE Qualifier this weekend, followed by GNCC WXC Round 6, Hoosier, and National Enduro Series Round 3 on May 5 – Rachel’s schedule is packed to the rims.
Rachel: “‘The next Women’s EnduroGP will be Italy, ten weeks from now… plenty of time to make improvements based on what I’ve learned about this style of racing. Now, back home and full throttle as per usual”‘.
Header photo: Rachel Gutish competing in Women’s Enduro GP Image: @future7media & @enduro21_official
Words: Sharon Cox.
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