Mickael Pichon whittles down Stefan Everts' lead with third straight win
ickael Pichon, of the Martin Honda team, chalked
up his third straight win
as he breezed through
another GP, going I-I for
the day to take the victory in the Grand
Prix of Czech Republic . In front of
approximately 17,000 spectators, Pichon
continued to make progress on Stefan
Everts in the chase for the 2004 MX I
Motocross Championship, although the
Frenchman Is running out of time with
just four rounds left. And it doesn't
M
26
AUGUST 11,2004 • CYCLE
ap pea r th at he 'll be able to cat ch the
de fending champ if all he can gain Is a few
points at a time - in other words, if he
keeps w inning and Eve rts keeps gett ing
second . But right no w, all that Pichon
cares about is being the fastest rider on
the circuit, and it appears that, right now,
he is.
" I want to prove something," Pichon
said. "I have had some bad luck this year,
and I think I've been unlucky to be so far
off the pace in the series points . I want to
show that I am the quickest guy and w in
EWS
mo re grands prix. I have changed my
training a little, racing mor e and more
time on the bike in general. I rode the
Honda 250F in a Supercross and en joyed
that. I am really having fun on the bike at
the mom ent."
Second in the MX I class was Everts,
with 2-2 res ults, while Josh Coppins came
home third with a ) -) tally.
In the MX2 class, it was Ben Townley
who showed true grit to win the overall
after a heavy crash on Saturday left him
severely bruised and feeling so rry for him-
40th Anniversary
STORY AND PHOTOS BY
GEOFF MEYER
self. Townley went ) -1 for the w in,
although at one po int in the opening
moto, he stru ggled back in the field and
was not making any progress. As has been
the case this year, Townley showed his
men tal str ength to take the w in.
"I'm hurting a little, " Townley said. "I
took a bit of a crash on Saturday. My
whole body was bruised and battered. It
was a tough day. I woke up Sunday morning really stiff. I knew, though, with my fitness I could get through , and I didn't panic
at all whe n I started outside the top I 0 in
