Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

forced to ride the remaining sections without the benefit of a rear binder. The . final blows were dealt in the form of flat rea r tires. Both Saum and Kempkes lost their rear lire pressure shortly after section 12, and were forced to accept fives in order to finish on time. "We weren't rea lly affected by our mechanical probl ems," said team manager Martin Belair. "Considering tha t we had the fourth, sixth, eighth and 10th ra nked riders in the nation, we did great" This year's event marked the first time that the TdN visited Andorra, though the World Championship Trials Series visited the country in '93. The Rabassa Shooting Ran ge hosted the event , wh ich was copromoted by R.P.M. Exclusivas and the An dorran government. A true motorcycl ing com mu nity, And orra is literally filled with hundreds of motorcycle and accessory shops. A 17-mile loop routed riders up , do wn and throu gh the Pyrenees mountains, quite often through the p rivate tobacco farms that cover the hillsi des. The 18 sections were laid out by forme r World Championship con tender Andreu Codina, a legend of sorts in the world of motorcycle trials, and all agreed that the Gas Gas factory employee did his job well . "The sections"Were good, this was a good trial," said Tarres. "It was a bit easy compared to a World Round, bu t it was designed for all riders. There were maybe fou r or five areas that were too difficult for some." Riders were allowed six hours and 40 minutes to complete two loops, with an additional 20 minutes available at a penalty cost of one point per minute. " It was a good trial, maybe a bit easy for some of the teams," said Lampkin. " I think the time may have been a little tight, though." Nevertheless, the only Brit to accrue time penalty points was Colley, who was a mere two-minutes late to the finish. Of the 18 sections, most were consid ered to be of "classic" style. Hillclimbs and creek beds greeted the riders, many of whom are accustomed to today's tighter sections that require liberal amounts of hopping and balancing. Only a few of the sections allowed for such trickery. Section one featured a long, third-gear hill climb of a mountain covered with (Abo ve) Six·time Worl d Champion Jordi Terres wou ld have won the overa ll, had he not Incurred fou r t1me-penalty points. (Above right) Steve Colle y and the rest of the Great Britain team fi ni shed a strong second. (Right) Diego Bos ls led the ita lian team to third overall. loose rocks, and the majority of the riders cleaned it with relative ease. The second, third and fourth sections were laid ou t in a creek bed , and ranged in difficulty. Most of the Euro peans had little trouble with the wet sections, bu t the Americans seemed unfamiliar with the slippery cond itions. The next few sections presented many of the lesser teams with a problem. Large . rock y st ep s and seve re cli mbs fo rced many teams to pass and take volun tary fives. Many of the squads sent their best rider to walk the section - if he passed, so would they. Section eight was laid out on the side of a rocky cliff, some 20 feet above th e access road . Originally, the route was stra ig ht up the m o untain, b u t after numerous team managers complained to Course Marshall Codina, the section was altered to wind left to right up the face. In ord er to reach the start of the section, riders rod e up a narrow wooden bridge that ca rr ied the m from the road to an area ab ove the cliff. The sec tion then zigzagged up the face. An extremely s teep downhill challenged riders in section nine, and most skid ded their way down the hill, showing few signs of control. The loop returned to the creeks for sections 10 through 13, before heading for the hills. There aw aited the sections that many considered the toughest of the event. Large rocks on mossy hillsides presented quite a challenge, as many of the faces were close to vertical. Section 15 featured three large rock steps that challenged even the best. Once atop the first rock, riders propped their front wheel on the second rock, which sat some four feet higher. After a few moments of contemplation, a large burst of throttle would - in some cases propel the rider over the second rock and on top of the third, which sat another five feet higher. "When you're sitting there balancing, the step looks quite wicked," sa id Ireland's Rob Crawford. "It 's a bit hairy." Crawford was the sole World Championship-level competitor on the Irish team, and accumulated 74 points en route to leading them to an eventual 12th-place finish. Tarres would also agree that the step was a challenge, as the obstacle claimed five points from the champ on the first lap. Tarres failed to clear the gorge, and crashed to the ground in a surprising turn of events. U had bad timing," said Tarres, "It I was a bad mistake, and it was my only five of the day. I made a bad line." After one loop, Spain already enjoyed a comfortabl e lead over Great Britain, 2756. Tarres led the way with a seven-point loop, and was followed by Pons with an eight, and Garcia with 12. Lampkin, Jarvis and Colley turned in scores of 18, 19 and 19, respectively. "I'm riding about normal," said lampkin. "Nothing spectacular, but not bad, either." Colley had a scare when he crashed in section 10 and splashed into the creek. "It was an odd crash," he said. "When I fell, my score card got ripped off, and it floated away in the deep water. We tried to recover it, but there were other riders in the way." It was an odd sight indeed, as dozens of Brits could be seen wading knee-deep Il) Cf) 13

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