VOLUME ISSUE MARCH , P33
Smage's two.
FactoryONE Scorpa's Alex
Myers also had a solid ride, with
3-4-2 loop scores putting him in
third place with only nine points
dropped on the day.
"I was a little shaky early on,"
said Smage. "With it being the
first National of the year, you
always have those first-event jit
-
ters. I'm really happy to see Josh
take the win; he rode awesome
and made one less mistake than
me. When it's that close and it
comes down to one turn, you
can't be too bummed on it. We're
still right in there with a good
start to the season."
"It's nice to come here, put
[my winter training] into the
works and pull off a win," said
Roper. "I'm super excited about
that. The sections were a bit
on the easy side today. I went
clean, one [point], clean, and just
messed up on a small hillside,
the same place Pat Smage took
his two points as well. I was able
to capitalize on that. You had to
be precise on all the other sec
-
tions and perfect through it."
While Saturday's sections
may have eased riders into the
new season, Sunday's sections
set the riders up for some seri
-
ous technical challenges. Tight
obstacle placement, with some
big ups showcased how much
potential the property truly has
as a National-caliber location,
and was reflected in the increase
in points across the board.
Roper stayed fairly consistent
throughout the day, taking 8-8-13
for a total of 29 points. Despite
having a few mistakes costing
him an opening loop score of 16,
Smage doubled down, reducing
his scores with each loop. With
a 16-6-2, he was able to take the
win on the day with 24 points,
proving that he is not yet ready
to relinquish the title.
Alex Myers, again, would also
stay consistent, going 11-20-
13 on the day for a total of 44
points, enough to take another
third-place finish.
In the Expert class, it was
another first, with Beta USA's Jay
Gregorowicz taking his first-ever
win.
Steph Vetterly
Defending champ
Pat Smage came
back to win round
two on Sunday.
Jay Gregorwicz
topped the Expert class
for the first time.
