F
actory GasGas rider Bryan Roper won the 47th run-
ning of the El Trial de Espana held at Motoventures in
Anza, California, April 23, in conjunction with rounds eight
and nine of the Southern California Trials Association's
2016/2017 Competition Calendar. Roper bested his team-
mate Alex Niederer from Austria-via-Florida and Daniel
Blanc-Gonnet from Oregon in a close and exciting battle.
The "El Trial" first ran in 1970 as the brainchild of Fred
Belair to entice elite-level competition, obstacles and
preparation for American trials riders with the end goal
of producing an American World Trials Champion. And
it worked! In 1979 Bernie Schreiber topped the world.
While Americans haven't topped the World Trials since,
the El Trial has been instrumental in supporting the Ameri-
can Trial des Nations teams.
In an effort to rekindle the El Trial fire, and bring more
IN
THE
WIND
P52
ROPER WOWS 'EM
AT EL TRIAL DE ESPANA
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
JESSE
ZIEGLER
The Ropers—father and son—celebrate Bryan's
victory at this country's longest-living trials event.
Bryan Roper
gave the fans a
show en route
to victory at the
47th running of
the El Trial de
Espana.
