Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

FIM World Championship Trials Series Round 2: Douglas Trial STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARIO CANDELLONE ISLE OF MAN, GREAT BRITAIN, MAY 18·19 " , he Isle of Man was once known as I Steve Colley's land in the world of trials, and the Brit does indeed still live there, but he recently got a neighbor that shares his same pas- is now completely healed, leaving his "rivals" with little hope of actually rivaling him. The rain complicated things, especially for the lesser-skilled riders, because the competition was not easy. On the contrary, it was exactly what the top riders usually expect at a World round. These aces like to have the chance to recover from mistakes, and the slippery rocks of the spectacular seaside hazards allow them to do it. Lampkin risked a lot on the first day when, after half-competition and sitting atop the leaderboard, he lost his concentration for a while and just eked out a tie-breaker win from a three-way knot with Graham Jarvis and Albert Cabestany. In fact, he only avoided a loss to David Cobos thanks to the latter rider's minder receiving a yellow card (see Briefly ... ). This close call shook the champ, and on the second day, he was as determined and confident as he was in the past - meaning the others didn't have a hope. Though Lampkin once again appears in control, the fight for the runner-up position in the series is more than ever open at the moment. Takahisa Fujinami was quite disappointed by some "stop" penalties called by the observers on Saturday, feeling that the same standards were not applied to other riders, but he recovered the next day, finishing in the second position. Tying Saturday's top two on points, but losing based on number of cleans, was Indoor sion. Perhaps you've heard of him, as he has won five consecutive World Trials crowns: Of course, we're referring to Dougie Lampkin, who continued his perfect early season by winning both days at his home round. Not only does the Montesa rider now live in the area and ride there often with Colley, but his ankle injury (Left! Steve Colley has lived on the Isle of Man for many years, and he used his home-court advantage to earn a third·place result on day two. It should be noted that lampkin moved to the island (although more recently) as well. (Top) Dougle lampkin was the man at the Douglas Trial on the Isle of Man. He won a close one on the first day, and a not· so·close one on day two. (Left) Takahisa Fujinaml's strong secondplace showing on day two helped move him Into a tie for second in the World Championship Trials Series. BRIEFLY••• Isle of Man hosted the Trial des Nations in 1997 and a World round in 1999. but of course most a road racing competition that in the past was in the World GP people know it for the Series. The island is situated In the middle of Ireland Sea and is also famous for havin9 lower income taxes than in England. Accessing the island requires a three· to four·hour ferry ride from the British shore. n. The sections were not grouped well enough to be viewed easily by the spectators. There were two groups of zones along the shore (from four to six and from seven to lOJ. reachable by a free bus

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