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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1542354
OK
ruce
LeRiche
claimed
his first
win of the
youn8
season and
Geoff
Aaron added his third,
as the A|'44,/NATC National
Trials Series
visited the
Arbuckle Mountains near Tishomingo,
Oklahoma.
for rounds three and
four.
On
Saturday, Aaron
put his Extreme
Riding Entertainmen(-sponsored
280 Gas
Gas on top of the box after dominating
all
three laps, the 33-year-old
posting
a total
score of only four
points
to take the
win.
Brent LeRiche
(Bruce's
brother), rode his
four-stroke Montesa
to second
place
with a
total ofeight
points,
while Bruce, riding
for
Sherco USA,
finished third with
16
points.
On Sunday,
Aaron recovered
from
a
disastrous
first lap, one
that saw him sit-
ting
in
sixth
position
atter the completion
of the
first 12 sections, to
salvaSe a sec-
ond-overall
finish. ln the meantime, Bruce
LeRiche
logged impressive rides on
the
Iive in section ll virtually eliminated
the
Floridian from any chance at the
win.
After Florin
fell to the wayside. it was
Bruce LeRiche's turn to
lead the event,
but after dropping
only a single
point
over
the first eight sections,
he too suffered
a
meltdown.
"Things
were
goin8
really
great
on
the
first l+ until section nine," the older
LeRiche said.
"lt
was a silly mistake and
I
iust
didn't
get
the rear tire up high enough
on
a step
and it
iust
stalled."
After completing the first
lap, Aaron
came in with only
three
points
lost, taken
in three different sections.
Brent LeRiche
came
in
with
five
points,
while his broth-
er sat in third
place
with
one
point
more.
Because
of the nature of the sections, the
trial was basically decided
on that flrst
lap.
Aaron
usually scores befter over the later
laps, so with almost
half the
points
of
his
nearest
rival, all he had to do was
protect
Sronv mro Pxotos
8Y SHAN
,[ooRE
his lead on the
relatively easy sections
and
the
win was his.
On
lap
two,
Aaron reeled off
12 clean
rides. Only Brent LeRiche and Sherco
USAs Cody
Webb came close to
match-
ing Aarons
performance,
each
needing
two dabs
to finish the
lap.
On the final lap, Aaron and
Brent rode
the course together,
each keeping tabs on
the other's scorecard. Both
riders used a
point
to
get
through the tricky second
section and then cleaned
the rest of the
loop,
8ivin8
the win to Aaron, with three
points
total, and
the runner-up
Position
to
Brent, with eiSht
points.
Bruce finished
third
with 16
points,
while
Webb and
Colorado's
Keith Wineland, on a Gas Gas,
rounded
out the top five with
19 and 20
points,
respectively.
"l
had a solid day,"
Aaron said.
"Everything
was real rideable, so
it
ended
up being
a
real nail-biter. I was
iust
tryinS
32 APRIL 26, 2Cf,6
.
CYCLE
NEWS
OFF.ROAD
Roundr 3-4
April 8-9,
20(,6
AMA/NATC National
Trials SEri€s
I
I
F
l
J
r
steep
yet grippy
climbs to take the win.
Gas Gas
USAs Chris
Florin finished third
overall after losin8 out
in
a tie-breaker
with Aaron for the
runner-up
position.
Considering they only
had
38
acres to
work
with,
the
Texhoma Trials Club set up
a challenging, but short,
I 2-section, three-
lap course,
utilizing the many
giant granite
outcroppings on
the
property.
Over 125
riders
sraned the event. which, for the Pro
class,
was a relatively low-scoring
aflair,
meaning that a small mistake could
poten-
tially
end any chance
for the win. This was
bad news for Aaron, who
is in
pursuit
of
an
unprecedented
loth National title this
year
and thrives in the touSher events,
but
good
news for his
rivals-
Florin led Saturday's
event after the
first
,ew se