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AMAINATC Ryan Young Products National Championship Trials Series Rounds 9-1 0: Arcadia National Forest Wilson ~raig and RyOn Bell win in Rhode ISland The main obstacle in section three was a large log suspended off the ground. After negotiating a slippery rocky creek, the riders had to blast up a bank and over the log, then turn and come back over it at a steeper angle. Ray Peters was one of the first through and bailed off the bike when he realized his front end was going to tuck under him on the other side of the log. Florin found the "traditional-style" sections to his liking, taking ones in each of the first three sections then reeling off 12-straight cleans to post a brilliant three-point first lap. STORY AND PHOTOS BY SHAN MOORE/TRIALS COMPETITION NEWSPAPER EXETER, RI, JUNE 28ยท29 Craig took his first-ever ~ National win, and fellow-Canadian Ryon Bell added his second of the seilson, as Geoff Aaron extended his points lead with a pair of seconds at rounds nine and 10 of the AMA/ NATC Ryan Young Products National Championship Trials Series held in Exeter, Rhode Island. With only three rounds remaining in the series, Aaron maintains a commanding 36-point lead over Bell (281-245) on his way to what would be a record-breaking ~---:' .~ . seventh National title. Craig is a distant third with 219 points. Despite Aaron's apparent lock on the championship, the Rhode Island event was a weekend for some of the up-and-comers to shine. Florida's Chris Florin turned in a spectacular first-lap performance during Saturday's round, dropping less than half of the points of his nearest rival, but: as Craig had done in Oregon four weeks before, he let his nerves get in the way and eventually finished third. Craig apparently learned a valuable lesson from the Oregon round, keeping his nerves in check en route to Saturday's win. After the very high scores taken at rounds seven and eight the previous week in Pennsylvania, most of the 114 entries were relieved to hear that the Rhode Island Trials Club had set the weekend's sections at a much easier level, utilizing the many rocky creeks and extremely tall ledges that cover the Arcadia riding area. Section one was set in one of the 'rocky creeks and was typical of the day's sections. The lack of "I had points in the first three traction on the mossy rocks posed sections, and I thought the day was the greatest challenge in this one, going to just get worse from there, and it drew ones from most of the but after that, the sections started to competitors. fit my riding style," said Florin, of his Section three was, most definitely, first-lap ride. "I really like that kind of a deciding factor in the event and stuff - big, open with plenty of room one of the most difficult of the day. to do stuff." Craig owned this section as the Aaron held the second-place spot ERE/Gas Gas-rider went 0-0-1 here, with eight first-lap points, while Craig, while teammate Aaron posted a 1-5-1, and US Montesa-sponsored who was riding a one-point loop until Florin went 1- 1-3. fiving the nasty double step at the \!1.\1( ilson 34 JULY 16, 2003' cue I e n _ vv s IAbove) Wilson Craig picked up his first National win on but faltered a bit on Sunday, finishing third. Satu~ IL.,ft) After finishing fourth on Saturday, Ryon Bell stepped it up on Sunday to take the win, his second of the year. exit of section seven, carded a nine for the third-place position. On lap two, Florin began to feel the pressure of leading a National for the first time and suffered fives in sections he had cleaned on the previous lap. "On the second lap, I knew I was in the lead - you know, the first time to lead a National kind of played with my mind, and I didn't know how to take it," Florin said. "That second lap definitely took me out of first place, and it was certainly a learning experience for me." Craig cleaned section seven this time around, taking the double step in one motion this time instead of trying to stop in between them. He bettered his first lap by three for a two-lap total of 15, placing him at the top of the leaderboard with one lap to go. Florin dropped two fives this lap, one coming at section four, which featured an extremely steep rock face that was some 30 feet high. The minders held hands to make a human chain in order to grab the riders who came up short on the climb. Three additional dabs later in the lap gave Florin 13 for the lap and a total of 16. Aaron duplicated his first lap score of eight and shared the second place position with Florin. Craig, who's style is anything but flashy, got better as the day went on. He used solid riding techniques and eliminated his mistakes with each lap to take the win, posting the day's bes1 loop score of two points on his final circuit. Aaron dropped five additional points for second, while Florin held onto third with seven final-lap points. "I just kept my cool and made good use of my dabs - nothing fancy," said Craig of the win. "I didn't look at the score board all day; I had . no idea where I was in the standings. I had heard on the loop that Chris had a three-point first lap, and I didn't even think I was close." The usually consistent Bell took his first nonpodium finish of the year, finishing fourth with a total of 32, while Peters rounded out the top five with 48. -