Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

···O S R E .·TR . B E V D IALS.. '. Round 8:Viella, Spain .WorldChampionship Observed Trials Series ail, t By Ignasl Bertran Tran slation by Martin Bela ir VIELLA, SPAIN.JULY 9-10 ow is it that the saying goes, "close, but no cigar?" Well, for Iordi Tarres, the saying might very well be, "Close, but the cigar will have to wait one more week." H t R of Spain ing In wi n ni n g his fif th-consecu tive World Round in his home coun try of Spain , five-time World Champion Iordi " Tarres came ever so close to clinching his sixth World Championship. Spoiling the likable Spaniard's celebration plans was the same man who dethroned Tarres for a season in 1991, Finland' s Tomm i Ahvala. Entering the even t, Tarres needed a win - combined w ith a fourth-orworse finish from the Finn - to clinch the title. . i3ut the party was postponed and the cha mpagne set on ice, as Ah vala mu stered a third-place finish behind Tarres and Marc Colomer to keep h is title hopes alive for at lea st one more week . Though it would have been a sweet, sweet, occas ion ind eed for Tarres to capture hi s unpreced ented sixth crown in his home country, it seems the inevitable will take place in Ita ly . Tarres needs only four championship poin ts to mathematically elimi(Left) Jord! Tarres wo n his sixth ro und of the series at his home event, but came up just four points shy of clinching the title. (Below) Tomml Ahvala played the spoiler In Spain, finishing second and postponing Tarres' celebration plans. (Below left) The event was held at Tossa del Mar, a beautiful beach resort on Spai n's Costa Brava . 38 na te Ahvala - and everybody else - from the title chase. Just as important as how things went, was where the even t took place. For the first time ever, the prestigious Moto Club Terrass - which has organized the Spa nish World Roun d for the past 30 years took the trial to the beach. Tossa del Mar on the beautiful Spanish Costa Brava was se lected as the event site, a nd a large number ofspectators show ed up at the pic tures que setting. Flawless organiza tion and planning left all involved - the riders, teams , chamber of commerce, and local businesses - very satisfied. Nevertheless, some sun worshipers couldn't be bothered and remained ba sking in the s u n, obli vi ous to th e tri al going on around them. Some purists criticized the circus-like atmosphere, and som e riders confirmed that they would rather ride in the mountains. What is clear is that th e e vent served to expose a great part of the genera l public to the spo rt. It was good in that respect, but an entire se ries her e would quickly lose its charm. Tarres was nervous prior to the start of the event. His intentions were to break away and hope that some of his countrymen wo uld slide between himself and his Finnish rival. H is nerves betrayed him, however, as he scored a five on the very first section. Not to worry, though, as his main opposition - Ahvala and Colomer - also succumbed to fives in the same section. Ahvala was the early leader until the plan was turned upside down and he began having problems, finishing Saturday' s prologue tied with Tarres at 14. Joan Pons continued his march forward, securing fourth overall for the year by carding a 15. Pons was followed by a trio with 18 - Colorner, Takumi Narita, and Amos Bilbao, who is finally starting to look like his old self again. Burly Frenchman Bruno Camozzi and his Scorpa tied Donato Miglio with 19, and they wer e trail ed by Brits Dougie Lampkin (20) and Steve Colley (21). Sunday began with man y possib le scena rios in store. There were man y riders read y to capitalize on a poor result by Ahvala and set the stage for the Spanish party. But it was not to be, even though Tarres ha lved his previous day's score an d carded a seven on his opening loop. Ahvala did Tarres one better, and turned in a six - the best single-loop score of the event. Colomer was third with 11, even after fiving the first section again. On the contrary, Pons' score soared to 21 after a huge crash tha t saw him injure his hand. Angel Garcia recuperated nicely after a first lap of 23 as he pulled off a 12 to get back into the game. Bilbao and Colley each scored 15s, and were on their way to a pair of excellent results. interestingly, Colley prefer s th e dry, grippy rocks of Spa in to the wet conditions of his homeland. The final lap confirmed what most had expected after seeing the fine form displayed by Ahvala. Spain would not crown her champion here today; that would have to wa it until the following round. Tarres did his best by turning in another seven-point loop. Ahvala stayed consistent with an 11, while a nine-point loop earned Colom er his first podium fin ish in th e last four round s . The Spaniard was delighted with third overall. Pons came back stro ng with a 13 for fourth overall, while Bilbao, Garcia, an d Narita finished fifth, sixth, and seventh overall, respectively. "The tru th is th at I was so nerv ous ab out trying to win that I made so me erro rs, bu t later I calmed down and I was able to recuperate," said Tarres. "Tomrni and I were equal toda y, and it made for an in teresting trial. Th is is good . With these types of sections, you could drop points anywhere. It was hard to keep my score d own, es pecially on the las t lap when fatigue set in. " "The last section was very difficult for me, but this is not wh ere I lost the trial, " admitted second-placed Ahvala . "I lost becau se of the many mistakes I made on Saturday. Nevertheless, I am happy with . my result, and feel that I'm on my wa y to second overall. Colo mer can s till cause trouble for me, even though I led him by 11 po ints. But that is not eno ugh. A good result will be necessary in Italy in orde r to be re laxed in the fina l round." "I recuperated a lot today, " said Colomer, happy with third . "This is my first podium fini sh after a string of mediocre results, and I am happy. 1 am also happy to see that I was well ahead of fourth. The trial was better than I expected . The championship is not over yet." a

• Cover