Cycle News - Archive Issues - 2000's

FIM World Championship Trials Series Rounds 5-6: Belgian Trial "I had a row with a control that gave me a five in section 12, saying I went backwards," said Fujinami. "It was not true'" Lampkin shared fifth position with Bruno Camozzi, Steve Colley and Jose-Manuel Alcaraz. In the second loop, only those who kept their concentration focused could do well, and the pressure got to many. But Freixa, unlike at the previous rounds, was spot-on, adding only four more points to his score - good enough to earn him his first World win. Cabestany's 14 knocked him off the podium down to 10th place. Cobos also slipped several positions, while Lampkin and Marc Colomer only dropped two apiece - catapulting the Montesa duo up to the podium. Fujinami fived section four, crashing and injuring his right shoulder, but he cleaned all the other sections to finish fourth. CAY 2 Spaniard Marc Frelxa (above) broke Dougie Lampkin's and Montesa's stranglehold on the World Trials Series, if only temporarily. The Gas Gas rider won on Saturday, but Lampkin was back on top a day later. easy sections! I don't like easy competitions at all." "I like hard sections," said Lampkin's teammate Marc Colo mer, "so I didn't enjoy this round. I don't think this is good for the public. They can't appreciate the difficulty of trials, as they could in the past. They only see a lot of cleans." While most riders echoed this opinion, many insiders side with the FIM's efforts to accommodate riders of lower skill. Some were wishing that each section had two routes - a difficult one and an easy one. STORY AND PHOTOS BY MARIO CANDELLONE MONS, BELGIUM, APRIL 8-9 hat's what the top riders were calling most of the sections at the Belgian World Trial, and while you have to keep in mind the standards these guys are used to, the event was the least challenging World round to be seen in quite some time. That fact was partly responsible for Dougie Lampkin showing the first chink in his armor this season, losing out on Saturday to Spaniard Marc Freixa. The defending champ of course rebounded on Sunday, winning his fifth of six rounds. The ease of the sections caused great tension, as the top riders knew that the slightest mistake could be fatal. Already this year, some sections have been easier thanks to a rule change made in the hopes of bringing up new riders, but this was the most extreme example yet, and most riders weren't pleased. "I don't think that at the moment the will of Federation is being applied correctly," said Lampkin. "They said five easy sections, five medium and five difficult. Today there were 15 T 30 APRIL 26_ 2000. cue • CAY 1 Troubles struck Lampkin early on the first loop, as he fived sections four and five. His 10-point total after one loop meant his chances of continuing his undefeated streak were quite low - especially since the other riders saw this as their chance and were extra motivated. Freixa, for example, only dabbed in section nine, ending the first loop with one point. Albert Cabestany was also strong with six, and David Cobos had two points more. And the stars? Takahisa Fujinami was angry with the observer in • section 12, and his score was nine. .. RIiI''UUS Surprisingly, the organizers didn't change the course much for Sunday, so the sections were once again easy. Lampkin didn't make the same mistake twice, riding consistently strong for the win, and the experience of veteran Camozzi helped him to the runner-up position, just one point back. Lampkin dropped just a point on loop one, dabbing in section seven. Camozzi, Graham Jarvis and Colomer all had four points, and Cabestany had five. Camozzi had a great performance on loop two, dabbing only once (in section 14), and cleaning section seven (the only trap that was a bit difficult). He rode very fast and finished before everybody, and as the other riders drifted in, his score remained near the top. Fujinami was second as regards to lo

• Cover