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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128331
Raga Wins Andorran Trials Gas Gas' Adam Raga won the Andorran round (a one-day event instead of the normal two-d ay format) 01 the World Trials Championship on Sunday, June 27, but it was Repsol Montesa/HRC's Takahisa Fujinami who moved another step closer to his goal of becoming World Champion. Fujinami secured second place behind Raga, but his championship hopes were boosted by the fact that his teammate Dougie Lampkin had his worst result in seven years of World Trialscompetition. With Lampkin finishing seventh, the Brit drops to third in the series standings with just five rounds remaining. With Saturday playing host to a round 01 the Spanish Championship, many of the top guns took part in the trial since it was being held on a similar course. While the home riders treated Saturday's trial seriously with domestic points at stake, the others who were not concerned by this particu lar title race chose to use the day as competitive practice ahead of the main and proper event. Having used similar hazards over a num ber 01 recent years, the organizers this time around served up a whole new challenge with all 15 sections being located on com pletely the opposite side 01 the valley compared to the past . While this presented a welcomed change, in reality the new location offered little variety, with the vast majority 01 the new hazards being steep and dry, with the usual mix of river sections missing completely. Sections six and seven were slightly muddy and were among the more difficult. The final section situated in front of the large mun icipal building was comprised of roc ks and logs, creating a tricky artificial finale. Raga's first lap was incredible - his loss 01 only three marks seemingly almost impossible, but it was true and was enough to destroy the other riders' hopes of victory. 8 Fujinaml recovered well alter lailing in the very first section of the day to hold second place on I I marks after the first tour of the 15 dry and dusty hazards. In contrast Lampkin's nightmare had begun with th ree fives within quick succession to put him on 22 marks for the same period and to leave him well down the leaderboard. Holding a clear advantage, Raga played it cautiously on his second-lap, taking safety dabs as and when he needed them to prevent any disasters that may open the doo r for Fujinami. The Japanese rider maintained good pressure for the lead, his score of six marks was the best second lap sho wing and kept Raga's winn ing margin within reaso n. Beta 's Albert Cabestany completed the rostrum, the first time since the o pe ning ro und in Ireland that the Spaniard had finished in the to p three. Beta's Kenichi Kuroyama recorded his best result of the 2004 season, his fourth position be ing almost as big a shock as Lampkin's demise. "It been a great weekend for me, " Raga said. "First winning the Spanish Championship round yesterday and then winning at the worl d event today. My performance during the opening lap, even I may say, was exceptional and gave me the chance to win without any great pressure during the second lap, although we were always aware 01 Fuji's progress. With Lampkin failing today, it now looks like I am the main rider now to challenge Fujilor the title . If I am to take the crown, I must again remind him ofthis fact in Italy next weekend." Fujinami recognized the value of his sec ond place given the overall situation . "It' s a good result lor me ," he said. ':A.dam was very strong today, and while I was still looking for the win even during the latter part JULY 7,2004 • CYCLE N EWS Who Is Racing At The X Games? The event promoters for the X Games of today's trial, in reality I was never close enough to offer a real fight. Obviously, Lampkin's result today is good news lor me , it wou ld be strange il I said anything else , but while now I am holding a strong posit ion with rega rd to the cham pionship, I also know that I now have to fight with someone new. Raga is sure to be strong in the coming trials, so I certainly will not be tak ing anyt hing for granted, especially now when every result is so impo rtan t." Lampkin, meanwhile, was obviously d istraught over his effort. "Gutted hardly describes how I leel right at th is moment," the Brit said. "I lee l physically sick as it really hurts that much . I'm not about to start making excuses; it has just been a very bad day. On the lace of it, winning an eighth straight title at this point seems almost impossible. I am not going to say a lot more now, as I really want to go away and have a long and hard th ink about exactly has gone wrong with me today, as I am certainly not pointing the finger at anyone else. The best way to get over this big disappointment would be to get a good result in Italy next weekend, but I know that isn't going to be that simple." Fujinami leads Raga in the series standings, 194-179. Lampkin is third with 174 points . 40th Anniversary Supermoto race, scheduled lor the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, California, on August 8, have issued a list 01 riders who have been invited to par ticipate in the inaugura l running 01 supermoto in the popular X Games. According to the promoters, the event will air live on ABC's "Wide World of Sports" at I p.m. Pacific T ime on August 8. The lollowingis the list01invitedriders: Flat Track Chris Filmore Ben Carlson Freestyle Mo t ocross Kenny Bartram Brian Deegan Mike Metzger Travis Pastrana Mo t ocr oss/Su pe rc ross Ricky Carmichael Doug Henry Grant Langston Jeremy McGrath Chad Reed Jeff Ward Road Race Eric Bostrom Ben Bostrom Nicky Hayden Supermoto Stephan Chambone Thierry VanDeBosch Eddy Seel Steve Drew Jurgen Kunzel