Gold Medal for McConnell at ISDE in Chile
Chile, South America 12-17 November 2007

It's over. Six days of riding my Electraction TM 300 at the International Six Days in Chile in South America and what a week...

It all started on Monday with the first sandy special test near the paddock. The conditions had deteriorated rapidly on the first test, there weren't any smooth lines or grip after E1, E2 classes. About 150 riders had already ridden around the track before me. Already I was 40 seconds behind my team-mate Tom Sagar. The next test was more hard-packed, so I managed to achieve a closer time, but it was clear that I was not right on the pace of the front runners. My times improved as the day progressed and I found my standard enduro bike settings were more suited to the hard-packed test than the whooped out soft, sandy tests.

The next day we rode the same tests as the first day, I kept improving my position but silly mistakes were keeping me from where I wanted to be in the results. On one time check, when riding in a slower rider's dust while trying to overtake him, as I was doing on every check, a local Chilean rider flew past the pair of us kicking up blinding dust, I couldn't see, I applied the front brake at the same time as hitting a loose boulder on the trail sending me immediately out the front door (over the handlebars). I got up and I was fine, but my bike was a bit bent.... to say the least. The throttle assembly was broken and the handlebar mounts were bent. I rode on to the next check with a sticky throttle where we were able to bodge an effective, but temporary repair. I managed to get a new throttle assembly but I didnt have time to change it until I arrived at a slack check on the next day. Day two ended with a most spectacular crash. I was in top gear on the final sandy special test riding flat out along the fastest section of the test, the whoops were simply too big for the soft suspension setting and I was ejected out the front door once more.

On the third day we were faced we a new schedule of special tests. Feeling a bit battered and bruised I rode on determined to stay on the bike (unlike the day before). However, the rocky terrain of the third test of the day was akin to riding on marbles and I fell as one of tests many victims. A straight forward low speed crash was to prove my worst of the week as I sustained a serious injury to my left arm. Immediately my shirt sleeve was soaked with blood and on picking up my bike I could see blood dripping everywhere. I managed to ride out of the test, where a makeshift bandage was made. Without painkillers I rode to battle on to the end of the check in a lot of pain. The bandage was improved and I took some mild painkillers. Most importantly I managed to stay on time. Unfortunately these efforts were lost at the next check as I dropped a minute due to a clerical time keeping error. I continued for the rest of the day at a somewhat reduced pace riding with one hand and aiming to finish. After struggling to change my rear tyre, I went to the on-site medical centre who immediately referred me to the clinic in the centre of La Serena. At the clinic, I met the doctor who spent an hour cleaning my arm, inserted a drain and then stitched me up. The wound was so deep he kept sticking his little finger in my arm to clean out the dirt. I was told that the bone was exposed and there was a high risk of infection and instructed not to ride the next day. The doctor prescribed antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and painkillers and wrapped my arm in a huge bandage and sling.

I woke up the next day in pain but fellow team-mate Chris Hockey was in a similar situation with a suspected broken thumb. We agreed between ourselves to start and see how we got on. All the pharmacies were shut until after my start time. I rode three checks without any painkillers and only one hand. This was to prove very painful and I just couldn't hold on for the tests. During the first test in the morning I just couldn't hold the bars straight, I rode in to a sandy corner and the front wheel turned sidewards into a braking bump and I flew straight over the bars. Finally I got painkillers after three checks but they didn't make much of a difference unitl I took double the dose with two tests to go. The pain was gone temporarily and I was picked up my pace again although my arm still hurt while riding on the trail..

Day five dawned another route and this time I was prepared with pain killers taken from 6am. I was carrying the painkillers on my person so I was not to be dependent on getting relief at the checks. I rested my arm on the trail and I was able to push hard on the tests. I even managed to beat Tom Sagar, Paul Edmondson and Greg Evens on some of the tests. At the end of the day I was so exhausted I didn't change any tyres in preparation for the final motocross race. I went straight to hospital where the doctor took my temperature and he said I had a fever, my wound was definately infected and I must stay in overnight. I was quite distressing to see the amount of puss oozing out of my arm. At this point the team manager was asked to come to see the doctor and tell him that I had actually been riding against medical advice. The doctor then put me on IV antibiotics and I was able to go back to the hotel to eat and rest.

For the final moto I made sure I had plenty of painkillers and a can of Red Bull. I was the first man on Silver going into the race in the E3 class and I had to make up 11 seconds to get back on Gold. I pulled all stops to make up the time and for the first time in the week I managed to avoid incident. I had several near misses but I kept telling myself to to push to end. This resulted in me achieving a Gold Medal. Also for the first time in the week my score was the best British score and the least time behind the winner.

Despite my crashes and hospital trips, it was an enjoyable trip. It was really well organised, the people were very friendly and the location was fantastic. I really enjoyed it.