A steady start had the Men’s team (Josh Green, Matthew Philips, Daniel Milner, Daniel Sanders) third overall at the end of the opening day, and the Women’s team (Tayla Jones, Jessica Gardiner and Jemma Wilson) well poised in second, though the Juniors (Lyndon Snodgrass, Wil Ruprecht and Michael Driscoll) were out of contention.

The women snatched the lead on day two from Spain (led by Dakar veteran Laia Sanz), while the men moved into second place behind the favoured local French team.

After a steady third day, the women extended their lead on the fourth and the men were just seven minutes shy of the leaders. The boys took victory on the fifth day but it wasn’t enough to hit the front.

The women took a seven-minute lead into the final day and Jones, Gardiner and Wilson (below) became the first women in history to claim five consecutive ISDE world titles.

Jones was second in the individual ranks, Gardiner narrowly missed the podium with fourth, and Wilson finished seventh.

The men’s team couldn’t claw back the host nation’s lead but celebrated a hard-fought second place, well clear of third-placed Finland.

Milner was fourth in the individual standings, Phillips 19th, Snodgrass 39th, Green 18th and Sanders 16th.

The Australian Club Team of Scott Campbell (95th), Shane Watts (68th) and Ben Kearns (24th) finished the ISDE in 24th. In the Vintage category, Geoff Ballard was an impressive second, Peter Cave finished 38th and Rob Shoemark failed to classify.