read Ycrowned as the World
Indoo r Trials Champion for
the seco nd consecutive year
after the previous round held
t Granada , Spain , Adam
Raga is proving to be the next real dorninator on the World trials scene, following
in the footsteps of jordi Tarres and Doug
Lampkin.
Ragawon easily at Nice in a well-structured trial, drawn by the Moto Club de la
Gaude , one of the biggest clubs in France ,
to confirm the title he had just taken
home . The crowd respected his daring
attacks on the multitrap hazards found in
the arena, even though he was no longer
in a title fight. Raga did not hold anything
back. serving up the spectacular performances that the young spectators wanted.
In good form as in the previous round
in France. Albert Cabestany. also known
as a specialist on unnatural obstacles, finished second. Cabestany gained the
access to the final phase for a while, eliminating Takahisa Fujinami. who scored the
A
same points but was elimated bec ause of
a time penalty; Cabestany rode fast
enough in the qualification loop .
Third place went to a tired Doug
Lampkin. who appeared to be unmotivat ed . The seven -time [outdoor] World
Trials Champion had an unexpected bristle in the qualification lap, scoring the best
outcome, but then in the final lap he failed
a couple of sect ions, sacrificing the chance
for better than the third he was already
assured. The night before Nice, Lampkin
and Cabestany participated at the
Bolzano Intemational Indoor (oddly won
by Spaniard Tony Bou); Bolzano is 800km
[about 500 miles] from Nice.
QU ALIFYING
Only the top six riders entered, and
nobody extra was invited . There were six
sections plus the parallel. Section one was
a sequence of long. narrow logs. and it
was more technical than spectacular. All
the riders almost cleaned it. Section two
was made with high, broken columns that
56 APRil 14, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS
40th Anniversary
