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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127398
RodiI World Championship Supercross
Series: Round I
Dutchmen clean up in
Thial£ Stadium
By Alex Hodgkinson
HEERENVEEN, HOLLAND, AUG. 31
·SEPT. I
he FIM's ill-fated Rodi l World
Championsh ip Supercross Series
added ano ther disastrous Chapter
to its checkered his tory as less tha n 1000
spectators turned o ut to wa tch home .
stars John Van den Berk, Dave Strij bos
and Edwin Evertse n dominate racing in
Thialf Stadium.
The en th usiastic promoters had
everything against them . The Wash ou gal National MX kept all the American
stars at home, with the exception of
Donny Schmit and 1989 Rodil Super.
cross Champion Mike J ones. A load
restriction on th e international ice
skating arena's surface plus a soft dirt
compo und left the track far from ideal.
Several obstacles were alm ost demolished before racing began, and there
were continual problems as sp in ni ng
wheels dug through to the concrete or
wooden floor , causing many crash es.
With one of the warmest and longest
late-summer hea t waves in memory
hitting the area, nearby beaches summoned many of the potential spectators,
especia lly with a rather steep admission
price.
Two of the top riders, Schmit an d
Bieffe Suzuki team ma te Stefan Everts
were kn ocked out early on Saturday.
Schmit tangled with a pair of riders at
the start of his heat, and later withdrew
for the evening with a bad bru ise to
h is side.
Everts also crashed in a hea t and a
severe headache ha mpered him in the
final.
Strijbos led much of Saturda y's fina l
and only briefly lost the lead to Pennsylvani a's Jones. After a titanic struggle for many laps with the advancing
Evertsen and Van den Berk, J ones faded
back to a fifth-place fini sh. Strijbos
scored the win ahead of Evertsen , Van
den Berk'and Pekka Vehk onen.
Van den Berk led all the way to the
finish in Sunday's final, which paid
points towards the Rodil Championship. Evertsen moved in on Van den
Berk 's tail at half distan ce, bu t a mistake
dropped him and he had to settle for
second. Strijbos took advantage of a
crash two laps from the end whi ch
claimed Everts, Jones and Schmit to
move in and pass Pedro . Tragter for
(llI
third on the last lap.
T
Results
SATUllDAY: I. Dave Strijbos (Suz); 2. Edwin
Everum (Kaw); 3. John Van elm Bak (Suz); 4. Pekka
Vehkon