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Rounds 11·12
OFF-ROAD
as Gas USA's Chris Florin and
Sherco US,A;s Bruce Ie Riche
split wins at the final two
.
rounds of the AMNNATC
National Trials Championships, which were held in the Allegany
region of western New York, near the
small town of Alma.
Even though defending champ Geoff
Aaron had wrapped up the series title the
week before in Vermont, there was still
plenty left to be decided, as both Florin
and Ie Riche were in a tight battle over the
runner-up position in the standings. The
two riders had one win each in the series,
which otherwise has been dominated by
Aaron, and were heading into the finale
with just three points separating them.
Since both riders scored another win in
New York, it was their performances on
the "other" day that determined the runner-up position, with Ie Riche winning the
spot on Saturday after claiming second,
behind Florin, compared to Florin's third,
behind Ie Riche and Aaron on Sunday.
In the final standings, Aaron claimed
the title, his ninth, by a 37-point margin
G
42
AMA/NATC National Trials Championships Series
over the South African Ie Riche, 286-249,
with Florin in third with 244. Californian
Cody Webb finished in the fourth-place
position with 183 points, followed by
Colorado's Keith Wineland with 177.
On Saturday, Florin proved that his win
in Vermont the week before was no fluke,
as he needed only a single point, a stabilizing dab to get set up for a step, to complete
the relatively easy three-lap, 12-section
course. That means that the Florida native
reeled off 3S cleans in addition to his Single
dab. That translates into two clean loops,
something that is difficult to do in the Pro
class, no matter how easy the event is.
Florin's only close call came on the final
loop, when he broke the ribbon in a section and was scored a five. However, the
judges determined, after Florin's protest,
that the ribbon had been tightened before
his ride, making the section more difficult
for him. The Gas Gas rider was awarded
a reride and he promptly cleaned it. Florin
and his one-point total for the event were
too good for the competition on this day,
giving him his second win of the year.
AUGUST 24, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS
During the event, Aaron and Florin had
played hide-and-seek over the first lap,
with each rider trying to out-wait the other
in a mind game intended to intimidate and
frustrate the other rider. Aaron was in the
hunt early on, dropping two first-lap points
and just one on his second lap, however, a
fIVe on the final lap, in the same section
where Florin was given his reride, put him
out of contention for the win.
In the meantime, Ie Riche had been
sneaking up on the front-running duo after
a disastrous seven-point first lap. The South
African came back with two clean loops of
his own to grab the runner-up position for
the day, two points better than Aaron.
"It was pretty nerve-wracking because
it was so easy," Florin said. "When it is easy
like this, you just have to watch the little
things like trying to stay focused and making sure the bike is in the right position. I
am starting to work out all the little bugs,
and I have been playing with the bike a little more and it suits my style more now,
than when I started. Obviously, Texas [the
first round of the series] was a rough start,
but things are going really well now, and
the bike is awesome for me now."
After matching his worst performance
of the year with a third, Aaron still felt
good about his ride.
"My only major mistake of the whole
day was a five on the last loop," Aaron
said. "It was a really awkward corner
before a step and the tape was right
there, so there was no run at the step. I
just barely got over it on the second lap,
and I wanted to make sure I didn't break
the tape, so I took a different line on the
last loop and caught a sapling with my bar.
That was enough to keep me from getting
over it. I rode well enough, you just
couldn't make any mistakes out there. It
was one of those days where you needed
a little bit of luck, and I was riding well,
but I just needed a little more luck."
Before Sunday's event started, the
organizers made sure there would be no
more clean loops for the Pros by tightening up the lines in several of the sections.
But despite the tougher lines, Aaron and
Florin still managed to get as far as section
seven before taking points. However, it
was section 10 that set the tone for the
rest of the day.
Section 10 was one of the toughest
sections of the day and was based around
a dried-up rocky creek bed with several
rock walls and large boulders framing it.
The focus of the section centered around
a tight turn before an abrupt rock step at
the midway point. The turn was filled
with uneven rocks that kept the rider
from maneuvering into position for the
step. Both Florin and Ie Riche made
decent rides here, with Aaron getting
through with a two and Florin a one.
However, Ie Riche, who had been waiting
for the right moment to ride, nailed a
beautiful rear-wheel hop into the corner
to position himself perfectly for the step,
and he shot over it with little effort.
For Ie Riche, the rest of the day would
go almost as smoothly. He ended the first
lap with only three points lost, then backed
that up with a pair of six-point laps.
Both Aaron and Florin were within striking distance early on, but disastrous second
laps for each left them grappling over the
runner-up position. In the end, Ie Riche
took the win with a total of 15. Aaron posted the best loop of the day on his final circuit with a two, but his total for the day was
19, which placed him in second. Florin followed in third with 28, while Webb and
Wineland again rounded out the top five
with 29 and 39 points, respectively.
"It feels awesome; there are no words
for it," Ie Riche said of his win on Sunday.
"I put down some silly feet on lap one, and
Ryan [young, Ie Riche's minder] had to
have a talk with me to get me riding, and
after that, I put it together and clean led all
of the difficult sections that remained."
"I kind of fell apart on my second lap,"
Aaron said. "I flVed section one, and that
hurt. I just put my head down and tried to
have a good finish to the season, but with
the pressure being off, I guess I didn't finish
up as strong as I would like to. But this has
been another awesome year for me, and I
am thrilled with the way everything has
turned out for me, and I am looking forward
to next year. There are some young guys
gunning for me, so we will see how it goes."
"This gives me some momentum for
next year," added Ie Riche, who had just
signed on for another year with Sherco
USA. "I am excited with my year and
looking forward to coming back. I have to
thank the team, Ryan and everybody at
Trials Training Center."
eN
ALMA, NEW
YORK
RESULTS: AUGUST 6-7,
(ROUNDS 11-12)
2005
Saturday
PRO: I. Chris Florin (1); 2. Bruce Ie Riche (7); 3. Geoff
Aaron (9); 4. Cody Webb (14); 5. Keith Wineland (16); 6.
Sean Bkd (63): 7. D,v;d Reed (107).
EX: I. Ray Peters (3); 2. Patrick 5mage (14); 3. Travis
Fox (15); 4. Stevie Darrow (30); 5. WiJllbsen (31).
EX·SPORTSMAN: I. Andrew Young (21); 2. Nick
Nantzoros (23); 3. Ty Diehl (25); 4. Steven Krouse (3 I); 5.
JIm Gawne (32).
SPORTSMAN: I. Lewis Bolopue (2); 2. Adam
Blumoorst (5); 3. Jacob Black (18); 4. Jeremy Hofstrand
(25); 5. James Schnaithmann (37).
HIGH SCHOOl: I. David Hofstrand (I); 2. Daniel
Allen (3); 3. Alex Bedley (5); 4. Will Abell (6); 5. Glenn
Roblin (7).
WOMEN'S: I. Kerry Williams (12); 2. Sarah Duke
(65); 3. Caroline Altman (113); 4. Laurie Placa (139).
SR ]0: I. Scott DeBolt (20); 2. Dustin Flook (36).
SR 3S: I. B')'3" Brm (0): 2. Terry An.""'" (1): 3. Md>ael
Leo