Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128332
STORY AND P HOTOS BY GEOFF MEYER n torrential rain and with 15,000 spectators cheering thei r support, two-time World Motocross Champion Mickael Pichon, of the Mart in H o nda team , produced his seco nd Gra nd Prix victory in a row. Having won the Grand Prix of Belgium a week earlier, everyone was expecting the Frenchma n to continue his challenge on series leader Stefan Everts around the circuit of Uddevalla in Sweden, and that's exactly what he did . Everts, with the added stress of the near birth of his first child, held it together enough to finish third overall and , more im po rt antl y, didn't lose too I 26 much ground in his race to become an eight-time World Champion. Everts made his second major mistake in two weeks, crashing in moto one (just as he did in Belgium a week earlier) and loo king untidy in his quest for success in Sweden. " In general for the championship I am doing a good thing - I lost only five poi nts to him, " Everts said. "I am not happy with my riding this weekend; I was not riding comfortable and didn't have confidence in the track. I was happy that it rained , and then it was really slippery from the rain . I pushed too hard trying to pass Pichon and slipped over. I was setting him up and made a stupid error. " In the second moto I was really JULY 14,2004 • CYCLE NEWS aggressive, but again I couldn't pass. Then Jorgensen crashed, and I got second, but I wasn't really happy for my riding. I wasn't tired." In the MX I class, Pichon pretty much dominated the Grand Prix of Sweden, as the French rider blitzed to 3-1 results. For Pichon it was about keeping the pressure on and hoping t he dice fall in his favor. " lt's not going to be easy," Pichon said. " You never know in this sport. We have five races and 250 points on the line. Stefan is arou nd I 00 points in the lead, but anything can happen. He is always there and very consistent . I don't like being beaten, and I want to win and win; that's all I want now. I want to catch up for sure, but we will see after the next 40th Anniversary couple of G Ps." Pichon still rues the missed chances and major errors he has made this year, including his high-speed crash in Teutschenthal, Germany, a month ago. Still, the French rider is also clear that the poi nts difference is large, and he wi ll need all the luck in the world to catch Everts with on ly five ro unds remaining. "I th ink my speed was there in the start of the year " Pichon said. "I made some mistake. but I was also lucky. My crash in Germany could have been a lot worse than it was - I could have really injured myself. I knew I had the speed to beat Stefan. Now w ith the points, I need everything in my favor. The bike is really good, and ' am so confident, and Stefan is