Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMA/NATC National Championship Series Rounds 5-6: Endless Mountain Freddie Crosset overtook Geoff Aaron for the series points lead In Pennsytvania. By SHAN MOORE/ TRIALS COMPETITION NEWSPAPER "U HlLSGROVE, PA, JUNE 29·30 nforgiving" was a word used often to describe the conditions at rounds five and six of the U.S. National Trials Championship Series held in the Endless Mountain region of central Pennsylvania. A combination of loose shale rock, slick, rocky creeks and moss-covered logs made for a treacherous mix of sections, which rewarded precise riding and penalized the slightest mistake with the maximum consequences. Defending champ Freddie Crosset, aboard a Gas Gas, was the best of the lot at avoiding major mistakes, using steady and consistent rides to take the win each day, which enabled him to overtake Team ERE's Geoff Aaron for the series points lead. Aaron, on the other hand, had a day to forget on Saturday, taking a season-low fourth place, but rebounded on Sunday to challenge Crosset for the win. U.S. Montesa's Ryon Bell had the ride of the weekend, coming from seventh position after Saturday's first loop to grab second over fellow Canadian Wilson Craig, while Scorpamounted Ray Peters used a scorching one-point final loop to take the show spot on Sunday behind Aaron. Jerry Young and the Pennsylvania Trials Riders were responsible for orchestrating the sections and offered a great variety of obstacles to test the largest National entry to date; 144 riders. "It was a good event," Bell said afterward. "There was good variety: some creeks, some hillclimbs, and some big steps. And the observing, in general, was quite good, too. There were some strict observers, which was nice to see." DAY DNE On Saturday, Bell succumbed to every trials rider's worst fear; a five on the very first section. Section one was a long and steep hillclimb, littered with loose shale rocks that required lots of momentum and a steady drive to maintain traction over the sketchy terrain. Aaron and Crosset had blasted up the hill for clean rides, but Bell underestimated the climb, rolled off the throttle midway up, and never regained traction. This ride set the tone for the remainder of Bell's first lap. The next four sections were set in slippery, rocky creek beds and became more difficult and spectacular as the loop progressed. 34 JULY 17. 2002· c u e .... FREDDIE CROSSET TAKES OVER SERIES LEAD WITH PENNSVLVANIA SWEEP. Aaron, who was admittedly a "little off-and-on today," took the first of his four first-loop 5s on section five, a "rock and roll" creek with a four-foot leap up onto a root-infested ledge. Aaron caught his front-brake lever on a small sapling, cased it on the ledge and fell backward, collecting the maximum points. Crosset took a clean there and was purposely laying back, learning from the other's mistakes and riding with an unspectacular and business-like fashion. The strategy would payoff on the tricky terrain. Section 12 was one of the most spectacular of the day and was situated at the edge of a bluff overlooking the paddock area several hundred feet below. A ride over a six-foot-tall rock formation led the riders to the primary obstacle, a five-foot vertical step. After negotiating the step, the riders eventually dropped into a hole, made a tight, slippery right-hand turn, and blasted out over another five-foot double step. n _ ... s Aaron delighted the crowd by registering the first clean there. Crosset went clean as well, while Bell posted a one. After one loop, Crosset led with nine points, followed by Ray Peters with 17. Wilson Craig, on a Gas Gas, was having a good day and sat in third with 20, with Sherco's Travis Fox two points back in fourth. Aaron occupied the fifth position with 24, while Bell equaled Aaron's four firstloop 5s and was all the way down in seventh with 27. Obviously mad at himself for his first-lap lapse in concentration, Bell took no chances and attacked section one's hillclimb with a vengeance, topping the hill with his Cota wound out to the max and leaving a trail of blue smoke in its wake. Bell was in a different mind-set for lap two and eliminated 18 points from his first-lap score, pounding out a nine-point second lap, which included only one major mistake - a five at section 10. Crosset went two better with a seven-point second lap, while Craig matched Bell's nine points. After two laps, the order was Crosset with 16, Craig with 29, Aaron and Bell with 36, followed by Peters with 37. Bell continued his strong run on the third loop, arriving at section 12 with six points, taken in six different sections. He also arrived at section 12 with a flat rear tire; and, unfortunately, Bruce Monighan, his minder, had suffered a flat earlier on the trail and was unable to keep up the pace, leaving Bell to finjsh alone. Without tools, Bell borrowed a plug kit from Beta's Andy Johnson and repaired the flat, but he had only eight minutes left to ride the final four sections and complete the loop. Bell managed to finish with three minutes to spare and only added one more point to his total. Crosset also finished with seven points, giving him 23 total and his third win of the season. Craig dropped 15 on the third lap, allowing Bell to slip into the second-place slot with 43 total. Aaron finished with 15 as well, for a total of 51 and fourth place, followed by Travis Fox with 56 for the day. "I was incredibly nervous and stiff," Bell said of his first loop. "But, I just said 'forget it - don't worry' and that turned everything around. I think everybody had a bad first loop except Crosset, Peters and Wilson." ") put a little too much pressure on myself," Aaron acJmjtted. "I still feel I have a chance at beating Fred this year, so ) went in there today thinking I need to win, and I think that might have worked against me. I just need to go out there and have fun instead of worrying about him." DAYTWD Sunday seemed to be a more focused day for all of the contenders, with no less than seven riders finishing the first lap within five points of the leader. Travis Fox was the rider with the hot hand, reeling off eight straight cleans to start the day. Peters, Bell, Craig and Montesa's Chris Florin joined Fox, Crosset and Aaron in a seven-way battle for the round-six win. Section 13 would be a determining factor in the round. It began with an almost-vertical rock wall, followed by four smaller steps. The exit would prove to be the toughest part of the section and consisted of a loose climb to a vertical wall, followed by a climb through a jumble of rocks to

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