Celebrating the 87th edition of the longest running event on the FIM calendar, dating as far back as 1913, the ISDE travels to Sachsenring, Saxony in Germany. While the race will mark the 23rd anniversary since the ISDE was last held in the country, it will more importantly become the place of pilgrim for the expected 500 competitors that wish to compete.

By mixing both professional and amateur competitors together and identifying each other as equals is why the ISDE continues to remain the must-do, must-attend – and hopefully must-finish – race on the enduro calendar for everyone involved.

The ISDE is about national pride... © Edmunds / Enduro21.com

For those representing their country on the World Trophy, Junior World Trophy and Women’s World Trophy teams the event takes on a serious and professional form. Pride of country is at stake and no matter how great the odds, every rider from every nation wants to perform to their utmost potential. In total 24 teams amounting to 144 riders are entered in the World Trophy Team competition and every one will keen to prove their worth during the six days of competition. For some the chance to wear their country’s colours with pride on the greatest stage of all will be a life long dream fulfilled while for others an encouraging result offers a potential stepping stone into fulltime competition.

On paper the favourites for success come from France, Finland, USA, Germany, Australia and Great Britain among others, though it’s teams like Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador that may rise to become the people’s favourites were finishing will be every bit as important as winning.

May the luck of the Irish be with you... © Edmunds  / Enduro21.com

In the Club Team category, where the vast majority of competitors compete, the ISDE can take on a different meaning. It’s one of the rare events in any form of sporting occasion where both professional teams and amateur riders stand shoulder to shoulder competing on the same piece of dirt at the same time under the same conditions. For many, even getting to the start line in Saxony will have been a year of preparation. Raising funds, securing bikes and training hard. For those, the ISDE will become a great adventure – reaching the finish line and claiming a hard fought finishers medal will be the greatest achievement itself.

Whatever the reasons and whatever the outcome, one thing for certain is that the ISDE continues to remain the most prestigious event on the enduro calendar and that’s why for the final week of September, the Sachsenring venue in Germany will be the hottest place to be.