Smage Tops Colorado MotoTrials
S
herco's Pat Smage domi-
nated rounds three and four
of the NATC MotoTrials National
Series in Canyon City, Colorado,
May 27-28.
Smage was perfect on Satur-
day. The Sherco rider had a clean
day with no marks on his card
after three laps. And on Sunday,
Smage was nearly perfect again,
dropping just two points after all
was said and done.
However, GasGas rider Josh
Roper did keep Smage honest,
especially Saturday, when he
nearly kept pace with Smage.
Roper dropped one point the first
lap and another the third lap, and
that was all. Roper finished two
points back.
The points gap, however, grew
on Sunday. Roper dropped a
whopping 16 points to Smage's
two.
"Saturday was pretty good,"
Roper said. "The sections were
quite long, so the riders were
constantly rushing to try and get
through the sections. Obviously,
you can't rush the hard parts. It's
frustrating when the entire trial
is easy, and one rock determines
your whole day. I had one mis
-
take on the first lap and then I
had another mistake in the Pro
Shootout in the fourth section,
so I ended with two points total.
Smage stayed clean the whole
time, so congrats to him, that
was a really good ride.
"On Sunday, I got lucky and
barely snuck away with a sec
-
ond. My first lap, I had a silly one
in one of the sections and then
second two laps were clean up
until section 12—that section
ended up hurting me the most. I
five'd it all three times, which ru
-
ined me for the day. Smage was
the only one to make it through
that section."
Sherco had two bikes on the
podium both days. Alex Myers
edged out Beta's Alex Niederer
for third Saturday, 17-19. It was
even closer Sunday, as he nipped
GasGas' Daniel Blanc-Gonet for
third by a single point.
Niederer was fifth Sunday.
Madeleine Hoover was a
double winner in the Women's
Pro division. It was a two-rider
showdown in the class between
GasGas' Hoover and Sherco's
Kylee Sweeten. Hoover took the
win with room to spare Satur
-
WIND
IN THE
P50
Sherco's Pat Smage stood at
the top of the podium both
days at the NATC MotoTrials
National in Colorado.
PHOTOS: STEPHANIE VETTERLY
