Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

AMAINATC Ryan Young Products National Championship Trials Series Rounds 7/8: Central Pennsylvania RON CLEANS UP Geoff Aaron sweeps and breaks all-time win record Ryon Bell had a good weekend, He started off finishing third but improved to second on Sunday. Geoff Aaron won both days of the Pennsylvania rounds of the National Trials Series. In doing so, Aaron broke Ryan Young's all-time win record. STORY AND PHOTOS BY SHAN MOORE/TRIALS COMPETITION NEWSPAPER FARRANDSVILLE, PA, JUNE 21-22 eoff Aaron claimed a pair of record-breaking wins at rounds seven and eight of the AMA/NATC Ryan Young Products National Championship Trials Series held in the mountains of central Pennsylvania, near the small village of Farrandsville, some 30 miles west of Williamsport. The double victory gave Aaron career National wins number 51 ana 52, breaking former National Champion Ryan Young's record of 50 career wins. Coincidentally, Young grew up in Williamsport, and the Farrandsville venue was one of his old stomping grounds. The wins also put Aaron a step closer to claiming a record-breaking seventh National title, a record he currently shares with Young. Aaron's wins, however, were not easy to come by, as the skies opened up over Farrandsville and dropped several inches of rain on the area, turning what would have been good, technical sections into nearly impossible' ones in some cases. However, as he has done all year long, Aaron rose to the occasion, proving that the old adage - when the going gets tough, the tough get going - most If the steady rain that greeted the 119 entries on Saturday morning wasn't foreboding enough, perhaps the first section appropriately set the tone for the day. A steep, undercut ledge near the entrance of section one stopped 50 nevus G JULY 9, 2003' cue I B definitely applies to trials. Aaron's Canadian Gas Gas teammates, Wilson Craig and Ryon Bell, swapped second- and third-place finishes over the weekend, allowing Aaron to gain a small amount of ground in the championship race. With five rounds remaining, Aaron holds a 34-point lead over Bell (231 to 197), with Craig (171) in third. Spanish Sherco pilot David Chaves and U.S. Montesa's Chris Florin, who have maintained a year-long battle over fourth place in the series standings, swapped fourth- and fifth-place finishes and left PA in the same shape as when they arrived. SATURDAY all comers in their tracks with the exception of Ray Peters, who found a sneaky way around it for a three. The difficult ledge cost Aaron a flat front tire right off the bat. "I almost didn't want to ride it," said Aaron of section one. "I knew that nobody was going to get through the thing, but I figured I better try it - I didn't want to punch out of the very first section." A tight turn just before the ledge prevented the riders from getting enough momentum in the mud to get over it, and most riders punched out of this section on the final two laps to save time. For the remainder of the lap, even the top riders were seen pushing and shoving in the mud to get to the end cards of most of the sections. "Obviously, the conditions were tough; it rained all night, and everything was really slick," Aaron said. "But there was nothing crazy as far as big obstacles; everything was just so slippery that it was hard to get going. There were just a few little things that were a little too tight for the conditions, and so there was a lot of pushing and a lot of threes and fives." With very few clean rides to be made, most of the riders were getting the feeling that they were riding their worst, not realizing that everyone else was in the same boat. "The key was to not get down on yourself and just stick with it," said Craig, who was riding with a new philosophy after his disastrous ride in Oregon. "I didn't look at the scoreboard all day; that was my downfall in Tillamook." Craig had led round six of the series in Oregon but let the pressure get to him on the final lap: "I didn't pay any attention to anyone else and just rode my own trials." Aaron made a spectacular first-lap ride on section seven, a slippery log section, to get back in the groove. It was really tricky because the logs were so greased up, and at the exit were two logs that were suspended three feet off the ground and at an angle. No one really wanted to commit to jumping over the exit logs for fear of doing a face-plant on the other side, but Aaron, who is very good at "zapping" obstacles, produced the only Champ-class clean of the day on his first ride by hiking the rear tire all the way up on the log (bicycle trialsstyle) and jumping out of the exit. After one lap, Aaron and Bell were tied with 27 each, with Craig in third at 31. Chaves sat in fourth position with 38 points, while Florin and Beta-mounted Peters were tied for fifth with 39 each. On lap two, Chaves logged the best score with 30 points. Bell dropped off the pace with a 41, which included five fives, while Aaron and Craig turned in matching 33-point cards. Craig made his move on this lap in section 1 I, a section that started in the creek and zigzagged its way up a slippery gully to a nasty double step. The norm here was either a three or a five, but Craig produced a brilliant clean, going 1-0-1 for his three rides, the best combined score of the day. Aaron matched his first lap score of

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