Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

Alook at the 1996 AMAINATC National Championship Series or the pa st several ye ars, tw o rid ers hav e dom inated th e AMA /NATC Nat iona l Ch ampions hip Se ries. The elder of the two has a stead y and cons erva tive riding sty le that has produced six conse cutive Na tio na l Cha m pionships fro m 1988 -93. Th e o the r is ha rd -ridin g a nd flashy, and has captured the series title for the past two years. Old school vs. new age. Age and experience vs. you th and exuberance. Ryan Young vs. Geoff Aaron. Wh en Aaron deth ron ed perenn ial champ Young in 1994, the six-time National Champion admitted that he had been slacking off a bit and vowed to come back swinging. A rejuvenated Young gained the upper hand right from the get-go in ' 95, and many were shocked at the Kentucky rider's new-found enthusiasm for riding. In the end, however, it was not enough; Aaron gained momentum as the series wore on and won the last three events of the vear to secure his second National Championship. Young flirted with the idea of retirement at the end of last season, but a lucrative (for trials) sponsorship deal secured in the offseason has given the all-time winningest Ame~ican trials rider the opportunity to glVe It one last shot. Young will recieve a $40,000 sponsorship from Zip Express, a Kentucky -based courier service, as' he trains part time to become a computer technician for the firm. But :-"iIl it be enough? Hard-core Young fans think so, as the new sponsorship and future employment arrangements will allow him to practice, train and compete full time in '96 . "There's no reason that I can 't com e ba ck stronger than T was last year," says Young. "I'm not saying that it will be an easy road to the championship, but I will definit ely be in the hunt." Aaron supporters, however, feel that the reigning ch ampion is in a league of his own. Younger and stro nger than Young, Aaron definitely has time on his side. A seemingly unlimited amount of courage dr ives Aaron , and man y feel that the Con necticut rider should follow in the steps of form er World Cha m pion Bernie Shreiber and comm it hims elf to the World Championship Trials Series. "Last year T was still finishing up at college," says Aaron. "I wasn't very focused at the start of the yea r. Now that I'm 'out of school, though, I should be able to ride my best right from the start of the season." ' For the first tim e ever, each and everv round of th e 1996 AMA /NATC I'\latiomil Ch am pion ship Series will co nt towards the Championship class-cit is is a first, as riders ha ve been able te t row out or .- miss seve ra l even ts in the past: Last year, only the best six out of 11.scores counted toward s the overa ll stan ditlgs. Although the sport of Observed trials is still considered by the AMA to be an amateu rsport, Roger Ansel of the AMA reports that, "The elimination of throw-out rounds eleva tes the statu s of the series and gives it . ' a m ore professio nal image." Mos t hard 1 core trials fans will agree that a higher level • of p rofessionalism is exactly what the sport , needs. > Lowe r-l e ve l s u p p or t classe s a t th e Na tionals will continue to hav e the th rowout opt ion, as on ly five ou t of nine finishes will count tow ard the fina l series sta nd ings. So how do yJe pre dic t th e 1996 AMA /NATC Na tional Champ ionship Trial~ Seri es will end u p ? After consulting With numer ou s trials industry insid er s, these are the hunches that we settled on... F .. f 14 G EOFF A ARON is w it hou t a d oubt t he lar gest r ider in th e Ch am pi on ship class, but th e 6 ' 4 " 2 0 0pounder puts h is size to good use. Not a particularly graceful rid er, Aaron pulls tricks ou t of hi s hat on a regul ar basis that leave his peers shaking their heads. When the going gets hai ry - that' s wh en Aaron beg in s to shi ne . Big sectio ns in which Aaron can utili ze hi s size and s tren g th ar e h is favorites , but bein g from Connecticut, Aaron's no slouch in the slick stuff, either. Without th e d istraction s of schoo l Aaron should be able to better focus on hi s training and practice reg imen, and . we see no reason that he sho uld n' t be even stro nger than before come the season-opener in California. Aaron reports that the new Beta Techno is the best bike th at he' s ever ridden, and that, com bin ed with hi s out s tandin g s kill s, should be more than enough to give him the edge need ed to win his third straigh t championship. . T H ERE' S NO d oub t th a t Ryan You ng is t h e m o s t d omi n a nt rid e r tha t Ame rican trials h as e ver seen. With 49 ca ree r wins, . You ng needs only five m ore to actually have twice as many w ins as 27-time Na tional winner Marland Whaley, who sits second in the record books. Young is a technical rider who shines w hen t~e going gets we t and slippery. HIS ability to analyze a section is almost second to none, and alt hough not as exci ting to watch as Aaron, Young rem ains a pleasu re to view in action . Thou gh Ryan will once again become -a "full-time" trials rider in '96, we'renot conv inced tha t the soft-spoken father of three will be able to ascend to the highes t leve l of hi s lon g and ill u s t r io u s caree r. Young will definitely score h is sha re of w in s a nd move closer to h is

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