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31 st EI Tria l de Espana STO RY A N D P HOT O S B Y S HA N MOOR E/ T RIALS C OMPET IT IO N NEWSPA PE R AGUAN CA,APR.22 GA, ix-tim e Natio nal Cha m pion Geoff Aaron scored a o ne-point , come fro m- be hi nd victo ry o ver Canad ian Ryon Bell at the 3 1st a nnual EI Trial de Espana . The ERE/Gas Gas-m ount ed Aaron was a ll bu t written out of th e sc ript whe n a loose rock cost him a five with just two s ect ions rem a in ing . Aa ron , howeve r, re dee m e d hi msel f with a spectacula r clean in the fina l sectio n of the day to clinch the victory . For Bell, the trial was pretty mu ch duplicate of last ye a r' s event, in a which he needed a two or better in the final section to win . This ye a r, Bell needed only to get through the final section with a three to secure the win, but fell just inches short on the difficult five -foot leap to the ex it. Us ual c rowd favorite Jess Kemp kes rode well, matching Aaron's afternoon score of five , but gave up two in the morn ing for an overa ll score of seven, and third place. Five-time Belgian Champion Fred die Crosset, who won the first two National rounds , finished fourth , while Sherco -mounted David Cha ves of Spa in rou nded out the top five . " It feels great ," Aaron sa id. " I thought I'd lost [the ev ent] when that rock wobbled on me. After that, I just decided to put my hea d down and clean the rest of 'e m ." After a relative ly easy morn ing loop, Aaron , Crosset and Bell were S tied for th e lead with no points lost. Kempkes and Cha ves followed with two points each. The aft ernoon ses sio n co ns isted of five exhib ition sec tio ns set in close pro ximity to the pits for better specta tor access. Approximately 150 0 trials fans attended the ATA-hosted event. Except for a single dab by Bell in section one, th e first two exh ibition sec tion s were spectacula r - but rou tine for the top-five ride rs and proved fairly uneventful. At the th ird e x h ib iti o n s ect ion , though , th ings rea lly began to happen. A d ifficult cl imb at the en trance was followed by an eight-foot launch from one VW-sized boulder to another. The riders then had to tip-toe across several narrow boulders to th~ exit. Aaron , who was clean up to this point, made the leap with no prob lems , but lost his balance'afld fell out of bounds in the final part of the section when a rock he was ba lanced on wob bled. ." (Above) Though he won the dual National rounds at the same location, the best Belgian Fred erosset could do In EI Trial de Espana was fourth. Is this obstacle vertical enough for you? (Left) Ryon Bell had the win locked up until he fived the last section. The Canadian stili finished second. Crosset also had problems in this section , when he m isca lculated th e jum p and landed too low to recov e r, ending up on the ground . Bell made a beautiful ride, launching his U.S. Montesa-sponso red Cota across the gap with ease and out across the narrow line of rocks for a clean. At this point, most considered the event in the bag for Bell. With jus t two sections to go , it would be ha rd for Aaron or Crosset to recover from a four-point deficit, especially si nce the well -conditioned Bell is not prone to making big mistakes. Section four was a further setback for Crosset, when he tried a bold line up a difficu lt step and was stopped cold. The Belgian kept his cool a nd hopped his Gas Gas backward to find another line , eventually getting out with a one. Chaves also scored a one, while Kempkes, Bell and Aa ron all escaped with cleans. The final section started off with a rock-ste p entrance, which most of the riders splattered, and the n ended with a series of massive bou lders separ ated by increasingl y larger gaps . The onl y way to navigate the ex it cleanly was on the rea r wheel. This particular section had been used on the previous two da ys for the National rounds , with no rider scoring better than a three on Saturday and only Aaron and Crosset managing cleans on Friday. Of the three contend e rs , Be ll e ntere d first and made a so lid ride thro ug h the first half of the section . He made a terrific effort on the ex it, hopping across the first two gaps, but came up just inches short on the third and fell backward for a five. With the pressure building and the knowledge that only a clean ride would take the win , Aaron separated himself from the competition and cue. e Geoff Aaron capped off the long weekend of trial s rid ing with a comefrom-behind win in the EI Trail de Espana. found a rock outcropping to practice on before making his ride . After 10 minutes of p r ac ti c e , Aaron entered section five. With the spectators crowd ing the tape for a better view, Aaron set up for the final drive over the gaps . The Gas Gas pilot re vve d his engine, slipped the clutch and sk ipped the rear wheel over the rocks and out for the clean and the win . "I was just thinking 'If I have an y chance of winning the event, I have to clean it - it' s either going to be a clean or a five, '" Aa ron said of the final section. "l practiced a litt le bit right before - then , just kept it on the rear wheel. " "I feel comfortable here," Aaron added. "This is pretty much what I practice. If you aren 't used to the grip , it's a n easy place to get cautious - you ha ve to be confident and s ta y on the rear whee l and j u m p across those th ings." Aaron 's win was the third EI Trial de Espana title of his career. The 1979 World Champion , Bernie Schre iber, ' he a ds the list of all-time winners with e ight ETdE wins. eN Reed Valey Aguanga, California Results : April Z2, Z 01 C'SHIP: 1. Geoff Aaro n; 2. Ryan Bell; 3 . Jess Kem pkes ; 4 . Fred Crceset: 5. Dev id Cha ves; 6 . Ray Peters; 7. Wilson Cra ig; 8 . Dennis Sweeten; 9 . Travis Fox. . B h 3 M.STR: 1. Derek Mart inson : 2 . Kevin USC; • Bob Rowland : 4. Dave Cole : 5 . Cody Webb . EX: 1. Adam Holbrook : 2. Todd Roper: 3. Ron Commo Jr.; 4. Jason Carpenter ; 5 . Andy Saum. ADV: 1. Ray Reser; 2. Dale MallJlsek; 3. Ja y Tery ; 4 Nils Mantzoros; 5. Will Ibsen. . (NT: 1. Joke Wilond; 2. Bloke Binder, 3. Rondy Lewis; 4. Gerald TIms; 5 . Rod Kempkes. . SPRTSMN: 1. Doug Thompson; 2. Len Sims: 3. Rich Zinsm ann; 4 . J im Leudermerc 5. Ca rolyn Seurn. NOV : 1. Bo Ibsen: 2. Callie Schwager, 3. Bryan Roper, 4. Toni VlJln Gaasbeek; 5. Dan Simpson. n e .... S • MAY 9 . 200 1 41