Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

II Trial de F.lpana XXI TRIALS.e e Aaron completes weekend sweep By Don Williams . Photo by J on Maeda . LUCERNEVALLEY, CA, APR. 7 eam Apri lia's Geoff Aaron comp leted a southern Ca lifornia weekend sweep by collecting a win at EI Trial de Esp an a XXI the day after his first round National victory at the Schrei ber Cup. Although Aaro n brok e Cosmopolitan Beta-m ounted runner-up Mark Manniko's th ree-year EI T ria l winning strea k, th e big surprise of the day was three-tim e Na tional Champion Ryan Young 's exchanging o f his ridi ng helmet for spectator sunglasses. Young was rel ucta nt to gi ve a: reason for his no-sh ow after a seco nd p lace fin ish , in Sa turday' s Na tiona l a nd shrugged at suggestio ns of bike problem s or not wantin g to ride a nonNat ional event. He did finall y say, " ( go t m y weekend of riding in yesterday. " Fellow Ch ampionsh ip class rid er Ron Commo Jr. was perp lexed by Young's non-ride. " It would have been good to hav e him ride, but he didn 't want to ride." Even Aaron, Young's teamma te, was nonplussed by Young 's spectator sta tus. "I think it was weird that he didn 't come o u t and ride with us," Aaron said . " It would hav e been good to hav e him ride , but he didn't want to rid e." Wh at Young mi ssed was his chance to strut his stuff with his peers at the most prestigious non-championship event in the country in front of a cro wd of approximately 500 specta tors and various arms of the medi a. EI Trial de Espana is intended to be an annual showcase event for th e trials co mmun ity and is designed with spectating in mind. The Championship class competitors ride a 10-sect ion loo p in the mornin g and then take a break befor e challen ging five pit-area exhibition secti ons three times in . the aft ern oo n a fte r th e supporting classes have fin ish ed tiding their portion of th e even t. Aaron and Manniko went into the · exh ibi tion portion of the event tied with zero points taken in th e morning loo p. Kip Webb was close behind with three dab s scored. The first exhi bi tion sectio n , called the Gerard Roof Tiles Section, was a maze-like trip over boulders up to six feet high strewn o n th e desert floor. Going against tradition, National number three Aaron was the first rider into the section, in stead of lett ing the higher numbered rid ers tak e the first p lunge. . Aaron explained, " I ca n ' t stand playing waiting games with everybod y and just hopped on my bike and decided I was going to do it. " Aaron 's nervou snes s sh o wed, though , and he took a dab on the mild opening rock in the trap. He regained his composure and didn 't dab the rest of the section. Manniko, acknowledging the break with tradition, took his number two T p late 'bike into th e section next. He quickly cleaned the first three rocks, befo re do i ng so me h opp i n g a n d bal ancing befor e exiting over the fin al two boulders for a clea n and the lead. Co ntinui ng o n to th e Overto n , Moore a nd Associates Section, Beta 's Commo too k the first sho t. T h is sectio n had a trick ro ck ent rance follo wed by a left turn and an assault on a six-foot wa ll. A rig h t turn put the riders into a rubb le covered uph ill tha t requireed an uphill left-ha nd turn in th e rocks before 'exiting. Co mmo took a dab to steady himself befor e the wa ll and another whi le attacki ng the ru bble. Manniko and Aaron foll o wed with single dabs each in the same spot in the loose rocks. After da bbing on the entry, Tryals Sho p Aprili a-mounted T odd Roper of Arizo na tri ed a different line at th e ru bble area. Sens ing he h ad not hing to lose as he had picked up 10 points in the morning, he went for broke a nd attacked a huge boulder to the left of th e roc ks, bo rd er in g the sectio n boundary: Roper revved the engin e, dropped the cl utc h, hopped o nto th e rock and leaped o ut of th e section and becam e the o nly rider to clean that portion of the sectio n all day. Aaron , Commo and other riders were tempted by Roper's adventurous lin e, but Aaron decided it was too risky. ' ' 1 didn 't go the other way o ver th e rock because if I had screwed it up, I co u ld hav e highsided and fall en o u t of the section," Aaron revealed. The third section was th e Riviera Construction Sectio n wh ich consisted of a two relat ively easy six -foot climbs brok en by a Iike-sized drop -off a nd som e simple turns. Most of the ride rs had no problem wi th this sectio n , altho ug h Aaro n did pick up a point o n o ne trip throug h the sections when he was playing it safe to avoid breaking a ri bbon for a five-point penalty. It was the next section, the Broadway Glass and Mirror Section, that effectively decided the day's outcome. The sectio n started with a to ug h rock step, followed by a short step do wn an d back up. T he n the rid ers had a sho rt break before riding into a left-hand turn th rough some ru bbl e. A six-foo t clear section foll owed befor e a doubl e step tha t sta rted with a 15foot obstacle and ended wi th a threefoot step. Manniko was first in . He was on a clean all the way through the section, but at the top of th e 15-foot wall he got slightly out of shape and his front wheel landed just out of bounds, 10 feet short of the exit for a five point score. It was 1990 High School Champion Ra ymond Peters wh o took the next shot at the section and took 11 ha rd five on the opening step. Roper foll owed Peters and took a three while struggling at the exi t. After win nin g the event for the last three years, Team Cosmo's Mark Manniko finished a close second behind GeoU Aaron at the 21st EI Trial de Espana. Aaron knew thi s was his cha nce to put Manniko away early and took adva ntage of it. He rode extremely smooth ly th rough th e section a nd clean ed the exi t area to tak e a insurmountabl e four dab lead. At the final exh ibitio n sectio n, th e Lomita Electri c Sections, there were no surprises with Aaron and Manniko making short work of th e lon g slab climb. Some riders did have some problem s with a step just foll ow ing the exit, but because it was ou tside of th e scori ng area ' it never took any points. . T he next two exhibitio n loops were un eventful as Aaro n p layed it safe and Manniko kn ew it was all over unless Aaro n ma de a major mis cue of his own. " After I kn ew tha t Mark had taken a five, I kn ew that if I co uld keep my scores low I cou ld win ," Aaron said. Aaron d id just that as he on ly scored five points du ring th e three loops of exhibition riding compared to nine by Man niko. Webb held onto his third p lace position, scoring I I points in the exhibition traps and fin ish ing with a spectacu lar single-point final exhi bition lap. . No ne of the riders were able to utilize the exhi bition sections to bett er th eir placi ng in the resu lts. T he fin al resu lts m irrored the or der after th e mo rn ing loo p , exc ep t to break th e Aa ronManniko scoreless tie. Beside Young, another consp icious spec ta to r for the event was.current and four-time defending American Trials Assn. (so u th ern Cal ifornia area) Champion T om Hamann. , Hamann sold hi s four-year- old mourit foll owing the Schreiber Cup and had not tak en delive ry o n a new mount. Among the sup po rt ing cla sses, th e Super Senior (40+) Novice class was o ne of the mo st competitive. The top three riders were separated by a sing le dab. Beta Zero mounted J ohn Colli ns was tied on po in ts and cleans with Fantic ridi ng Steve Beck. When th e o nes were tallied, Collins sq ueaked by for a win. Doug Stephen s was on ly a po int sho rt of a win, wi th eno ugh cleans to beat Collins or Beck, bu t had to settle for third. Bob Gaouette was two points back in fourth after taki ng a prot ested five on th e seco nd lo op. Cou rse Marshal Dean H ambrick investi gated and ruled the checker was correc t and th e contro versial five stood, movin g Gaouette from first to fourth . . The Intermediates ba ttled tig h tly all day long . and every point weighed heav ily in the results. O nly nine points separated winner Paul Johnson and ni nth pl ace Brad McClellan. a Results C'SH IP: I. Geofl Aar on (Ap r) S p ts.: 2. Mark Manniko (&t) 9: 3. Kip w ebb (Fan ) 14; 4. Ron Co m mo jr. (Be,) 22; S. Ken n y Led uc (Ap r) 26. SPTSMN: I. Kmny La ne (Fa n) ; 2. T im Pilg (Fa n ); 3. T . Leduc: 4. Tim Appel (Be t): S. Robert Mad den (Be l). SR.(!JO+) SPTSMN : I. Clive Ha n non (Fan ); 2. P ClC Croh (Yam ); 3. Chalme rs Hall (Ap r); 4. Dave wh iul e ( Y am ). S/SR (40+I S PTS MN: I. Bill de G a ris; 2. Bob Pick; 3. John Hu ssman ; 4. Berry v anes . , 'yET (50+ ) SPTSMN: I. Bill Thompson (Ya m ). I~'T: I. Pau l j ohnso n (Ya m ); 2. T . Fel and : 3. jim Collins (Be t) : 4. Cra ig McCl ellan (Yam ); S. j.0. Mill <:f (Ya m ). SR. I ~": 1. Denni s Wilson (Bel) ; 2. Bill Merri ll (Ya m) ; 3. La rry Varnell (Ya m ): 4. Craig DeG rou · (Fan ); S. Mark webster (Be t]. 5/5R L~T: 1. Ken Mar ecak (Ya m); 2. 8i1l Ha nnon (Yam ); 3. Mike Fen ner (Ap r). VET INT; I. j oe Wir th (Ap r); 2. Pa ul O lliges (H on) . NOV: I. Ri ch Schu macher (Fa n); 2. J o n Frazie r (Fan) ; 3. Carlos Negr ete (Gas): 4. Larry Brosam (Bet) : S. Joe Fascla. SR NOV: I. Rick j en kins (Bu l): 2. Kun Roll (Ap r); 3. Dennis Thompsen (Bet); 1. Mar k Graviu (Fan ); 5. Mich ael Suzuki {Yarn). S/SR NOV: J. j ohn Co lli n. {Be t); 2. Steve Beck (Fan); 3. Dou g Stephen s (Ya m ); 4. Bob Caoue tte ' (Mer ); S. Lawren ce Alexa nder (Ya m ). VET NOV: I. Duane Sto ne (G a.); 2. Bob Grove (Ap r); 3. Bob Mill er (T ri). BEG : J. j el! Isbell {Bet ): 2. Sleven Varne ll (Ya m); 3. Pau l Pa lermo (Yam); 4. Jim Swiger (Ya m ); 5. Richard Zinsmann (Apr). sa BEG: 1. Bill Burrows (Fan ); 2. Evan Will iams (Hon ); 3. (TIEl Gr eg Meich try (He m/ Dave Longman (H on); 4. Walt er Bus uttil (8 u l); 5. Bill Bu rro ws (Fan ). S/SR BEG : J. Fred Lang (Yam). VET BEG: l. R. Dozier: 2. AI Nouria n (v am): 3. D. Baker; 4. M. Tolle. 13

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