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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128633
Trials d es N a t ions somewhat easier than in the U.S . Series. With the new rules, the U.S . team's success means it will be pro moted to the A grou p for the 200 1 edition , but th e gu ys ha ve o ne yea r to wo rk o n the ir s kills. As for th e U.S . women , Debbie Evans Le a vitt an d Pam De Br u in both fro m C a liforn ia - had a less than-st e lla r d a y , but like t h e o ther two team m embe rs (Laura Bu ss ing and Kerr ie Brokaw , who were running fo r solo cla ssificati o n), they e njoyed th e competition. GROUP A The ancient due l b etwe en S pa in a nd G re at Britai n wa s mi s s ed th is ye a r because of the forced a bsence of Gra ha m Jarvis, still recovering from a bad inj ury inc urred in April. So all th e pr e dictions we re fo r Sp a in , wi t h Ja p a n having a c ha nce as well. In front of their fans a nd on th e gro und they prefer, the Spanis h did no t dis appoi nt. Immediately impre ssive was Ma rc Co lo m e r, ready to avenge a n u nl ucky seaso n . On the a lmos t imp o s s ib le wall of s e ction six, he reached the to p , clea ning it! His good p er form an c e s we re u p h e ld w ith s uperb p ass ag es by te a m m a te s Marc F rei xa , Ma rcel J u s tribo a n d Alb e rt Cab e s t a n y , all more or le s s a t t he same level. On th e Japane se tea m, Taichi Tana ka wa s a bit un der the res ults of coho rts Takahisa Fujinami, Tomoyu ki Ogawa a nd Ke nichi Kuroyama , so at the e nd of the first loop. S pa in led w ith 25 p o in t s , s ev en b e tt er th a n Ja pan. More distant was Great Brita in with 42. Ca bes ta ny 's im p rov em ent allowed Spain to lower its score on loop two , wh ile off p erform ances b y the top Ja panes e , Kuroyam a and Fujina m i even if bala nc ed by a good ride from Og awa - did no t allow their team to bea t the s trong Spaniards . Not o nly that, b ut then Ja p an risked b e in g cau ght b y Great Brit ai n , as World C ha mpio n Do ug ie Lam p k in ' s nine point to tal was the be st of the event. In fourth place, like las t year, was the Ita lian tea m . GROUP B Trials dom ination of Great Brita in 's Dougie Lampkin , who posted the weekend 's lowe s t total , but was not well -enough supported by his cohorts. Spain also topped the firs t offic ial female Trials des Nations, which was held in conjunction with the head line event. The event saw t he 23 teams split in to t w o groups , as in p revious years, but this time organizers also p o p ula te d the A group with groupB winners from the past three years . The sections were well laid out for both male groups and the women . STOR Y A ND PHOTO S BY MAR IO CANDELLONE SERA, SPAIN, SEPT. 9-10 h ile the home team won the event and the glory at t he 17th running of the Trial des Nations, held this ye a r near Barcelona , American tria ls fa ns we re understandebly more excited tha t the Un ited Stat e s squad ca me out on top of th e 13 -team B division. The event signals the closure of t he internationa l-trials season , and Spa in's victories on both days served a s revenge for the year-long World W 28 O CTO BER 4 , 2 000 ' eye I III ne VIl' s After p la yin g second fid dle to Dougi e Lampkin f o r m uch of the 2000 season , Marc Colomer (p Ictured) led his Span i sh team t o the w i n In the Trials des Nations. The USA team demonstrated its strength in the men 's B group, where Geoff Aaron, Raymond . Pe te rs , Jess Kempkes and Cory, Pinco c k , coordi nated by AMA m an a ger Roger Ansel. climbed to the top step of the podium , showing an improvement more in mental strength than in physical talen t. In their group , it was very im po rta nt to keep the right concentration to ride on sections that were On the long B loo p, there were 18 sections to be run twice eac h. T he Americans started in the middle, not far from the Dutch ยท their main rivals. All the sections were laid out on arid and dusty terra in, except for the last, wh ich was an indoor-style hazard near the Start. Each te a m had to consist of at least three ride rs . wit h a maximu m of four. In eac h sec tio n, th e b e s t thre e res ults from eac h team are co un ted . The first loop finished with the Netherlands leading with 12 po ints , carried by the young Pete r Van der Sluis, who had s c o re d only two points. The USA was just a