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Trial des Nations Gas, of which he had just received delivery from the factory (he required almost the entire first loop to become accustomed to the bike). Spain capitalized on this fact, leading the Brits by 19 at half-competition - 34-53. In third place was the home team with 87, fighting off the Italians on 107. The second loop was no surprise: Spain easily controlled the recovery attempt by its rivals and once again was best, though by a much slimmer margin (48 to 51). The French applauded by the partisan fans retained third, while the Italians saw their bid for the podium sabotaged as much by their own case of the nerves as by the other teams' rides. Individual scores were equally unsurprising, reflecting the results in the recently completed World Championship Series. Lampkin finished with 31 points, Jarvis with 34, Freixa STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARIO CANDELLONE LA BRESSE, FRANCE, SEPT. 23 .LJ ike the American Motocross des ~ Nations team, the U.S. Trial des Nations squad stayed at home rather than attend the competition in Europe (in light of the September 11 terrorist attacks), leading to somewhat of a melancholy feeling at the normally up-beat trials event in western France (in the mountains near the German border).The powerhouse Japanese team was also absent, much to the disappointment of the local fans, which nonetheless turned out in large numbers, filling the little town that once hosted a World round in 1997 (tickets went for about $8 each). The 18 sections (With the exception of the indoor-style last one near the start) were featured about three miles from town, and all consisted of 52 OCTOBER 10, 2001 • slippery rocks on typical mountainous terrain. Fortunately, there was no rain over the weekend, despite the fact that it had dropped consistently in the days preceding the competition. The 20 four-man teams were split into two groups (the elite-level Group A and the lesser-skilled Group B), and the favorites to win the premier class were the defending-champion Spanish (all of whose riders - Marc Freixa, Adam Raga, Albert Cabestany and Marc Colomer - had finished in the top seven in the World Trials final standings). To no one's surprise, they took home the title again. There was nothing that the challenging British team could do, though it was definitely strong, with Doug Lampkin (World Champion), Graham Jarvis (winner of the last two World rounds), Steve Colley and Sam Connor. In retrospect, it may have been a mistake to put Colley on his new Gas cue •• n D _ S with 35, Raga with 42, Colomer with 45, and Cabestany with 48 (still, these scores are somewhat misleading, since a team's fourth rider often wouldn't bother to ride a section if his three cohorts cleaned it, as only a team's top three scores in each section are counted). CN Trill dIS Nltians 1.1 Bre_, F..IICI lllulb: Saptember 23, 2001 GROUP A: 1. Spain (Albert Cabestllny, Mere CoJomer, Mere Freixe, Adllm Rage); 2. England (Steve Colley, Sam Connor, Grehem Jtlrvis, Dougle Lampkin); 3. Frence (Jerome Bethune, Bruno Camozzl. Christophe Camoui. Gregory Eyries); 4. Itllly (Pietro Agostoni, Stofano Dellio, Fabio Lenzi, Dario Re Delle Gandine): 5. Belgium (J~ln Cardineels, Olivier Colson, Arnaud Dennine. Michael Vukcevic); 6. Sweden (Benny Arthursson. Tommy Borjesson, Anders Nilsson, Jones Riedel); 7. Czech Republic (Pevel Bales, Devid Kadlec, MartIn Kroustek, JiM Svobode). GROUP B: 1. Germeny (Andree. Lettenbichler, Cersten Stranghoner, Jens T~ Jung, Mercus Gorie); 2. Irelend (Mlcheel Burton, Robert Crewford, Jonethen Hagen, Andrew Perry); 3. Norwey (Lers Erik Fremsted, Andreas Greeker, Kenneth Lersen, Ole Andre Svendsen): 4. A""treUe (NeU Price, Dylen Rees, Colin Zerczynskl, Kevin Zarczynski); 5. Netherlends (Rodney Heijmens, Freos Steppers, Alex Ven Den Brael, Peter Ven Der Sluls).