Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/100352
1 o from the pack right from the start, but a fall at s~tion 10, which featured a tough , undercut step at the entrance, left Aaron looking a little shaky, and the 31-year-old went on to five the next t hree sections in a row. At the end of loop one, Aaro n held a flve- point lead over Bell (29-34), with Florin in third with 32. Fiftee n-yea r-old Cody Web b was making his best-eve r National ride and followed next with 33, O n lap two, t hree riders made marked improvements ove r thei r first lap scor es, including Montessa rider Ie Riche, w ho mo ed from sixth pos ition afte r loop one to third place at the e nd of the se cond. , "I had a bit of carbure tor problems on th e first loop, making it an absolute disaster. But we got t hat so rted out , and I real~ 'conce ntrated on my second lap and onlynad one five," said Ie Riche. :tf"'lN-.,-,R'FJII' on and Bellwere the other two ridwho made drastic improve ments on ��� 1 Aaron wins in Colorado STORY AND PHOTOS BY S HAN 'MoORE/TRIALS COMPETITION NEWSPAPER ' en a Colorado round of the AMA/NATC National Trials C hampionship Series turned up on the 2004 schedu le bac k in N ovembe r o f la st year, it was generally assumed that the event would be one of the tougher ones , if fo r no ot her r e aso n tha n for t he power-ro bbing effects that the extreme alt itude has on both riders and machinery. Conseque ntly, when all was said and done, rounds t hre e and four of the series, held at an eleva tion of 7800 feet in the Rocky Mountains near Cotopaxi, were con sidered by many of the Pros to be the most de mandi ng Natio nal in qu ite so me time and featured some of th e bigge st wa lls, tallest steps and widest gaps eve r faced in the series. The difficulty of the event, however, played right into the hands of ERE/Gas Gas-sponsored Geoff Aaron, who flexed his muscles to claim a pair of solid w ins at the RMTA-ho sted eve nt and further pad his championship lead , which now stands at 28 points over his closest rival. "This has prob ably be en the most demanding event that I have ridden in a couple of years, maybe even longer," said Aaron, who thrives on difficult sections. "Mainly because the stu ff was so big that if you came off of it, you could get hurt or brea k your bike. But I th ink t he sections W 36 JUNE 16 , 200 4 ��� C YC LE N EWS were go od, because they were a mixtu re of big and technical st uff and not just huge walls." Canadian Gas Gas ride r Ryon Be ll was up to the challenge as well. Afte r be ing "a bit off" at the first tw o rou nds in Tennessee last mo nth, he posted a pair of unchalle nged seconds, moving him past U.S. Montesa's C hris Florin for second positio n in the series sta ndings. Florin, who de feated Aaron at EI Trial de Espana in California just the week before, went 4-3 ove r the two days in Co lorado and now sits in third ove rall. With five rou nds to go in the series, Aaron leads wit h 120 points, followed by Bell with 92, Florin w ith 82 and South African Brent Ie Riche w ith 68. On Saturday, Aaron sta rted well with some cleans and ones and looked to be pulling away 40th Anniver sary