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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/127744
(Lett) italian National Champion Joan Pons ended his season with a third-place finish In Anland. The Spaniard will contest the Spanish National Championship in '96. (Above) Former World Champion Tomml Ahvala failed to shine at his home-country event. The 1992 champ was fourth In Finland and third overall in the series. (Below) Doug Lampkin ended the season ranked fourth overall, but failed to win an event In 1995. Rumors have the Englishman Joining the Gas Gas team In '96. supremacy throughout the weekend. Tarres and Colomer were joined by their countryman Pons, Brit Lampkin and home rider Tommi Ahvala, who was dete~ed to end the season on a high note in front of thousands of fans in his home city. The trial actually took place right in the center of Finland's capital, Helsinki, and ':Vas based on the Olympic StadiUIIl which staged the Games back in 1952. Like the rest of Europe, Helsillki has enjoyed a long, hot summer and the event took place in glorious sunshine with dry, dusty sections giving the trial a very Spanish feel. Three laps of 14 sections (one loop Saturday - two on Sunday, as normal) saw 12 natural sections set in the rock outcroppings in Helsinki Center and two indoor-style rock-and-Iog sections in the paddock that were totally unnecessary, given the natural rock available. Most riders were happy with the sections in general, though, as they proved a good test with plenty of technical parts and lots of big steps to rip at. The opening section, set right on a dual-carriageway, wasn't difficult by modem standards,. but Colomer showed how tense he was first thing on Saturday, taking a very shaky three. Ahvala, Pons and Lampkin also looked nervous with early singles, but Tarres cruised through for his clean. Tarres and Lampkin then both collected maximums on the steep, second-section climb where Colomer and Pons escaped with dabs as Ahvala, AmOs Bilbao and Steve Colley showed their class with excellent cleans, packed with technique. The first of the "indoor" sections was the sixth, as riders returned to the parc ferme on a figure-eight loop. Amazingly it was the indoor specialists who came unstuck in the main. Colomer collected his only five of the loop here, Pons also took a maximum. Tarres needed two, but Lampkin and Colley both breezed it as did Italian Diego Bosis and fun-loving Spaniard Bilbao. Also cleaning was Japanese rider Tomoyuki Ogawa, and although his first circuit wasn'.t brilliant, he was to make a superb comeback. Colomer, though, soon put his setback behind him and in fact dropped only another four marks over the rest of Saturday's loop to finish on top with only 13 marks to his name. Ahvala was next and he had actually dropped 11 of his 14-mark total by the sixth section. His crew then sorted out the off-tune Fantie and the Finn soon strung some excellent rides together. Lampkin, Bilbao and Pons followed, tied together on 15 and each cur~ing himself for an unnecessary five. "I should be leading but for stupid fives. Why do I keep doing it?" said Lampkin for all of them. And where was Tarres? Back in sixth place on 20 marks, and it was tempting to think that maybe a big upset was in the cards. After all, if Colomer won the trial and Tarres finished eighth, the title was Colomer's. In reality, it was never . going to nappen as he was still only seven marks off the lead. Still, it kept the paddock buzzing in the evening with talk of team tactics entering into the equations. Would Gas Gas pilots be asked to drop behind Tarres? The man himself was totally unconcerned, and as dusk fell Tarres was to be found chatting to the Japanese riders 27