Cycle News

IN THE WIND P22 securing the 2014 SuperEnduro title by winning the night's open- ing final in Tours. That, combined with the fact that the Red Bull KTM rider had beaten his closest championship rival David Knight in the Superpole qualifying ses- sion, meant the title was his. With his focus for the event very much securing the world title, Blazusiak still ended up tak- ing the overall win – his fourth straight in the 2014 series. "It's amazing to think that this is my fifth SuperEnduro Cham- pionship," he said. "It's been an incredible five years with some great moments and some tough times, but to finally get this championship won is amazing. My plan was simple – I wanted to stay ahead of David Knight in the Superpole and then win the first final. That would be enough to secure the championship, and that's what I managed to do. Once I knew that the champion- ship was safe I decided to go for the overall event win as well, which I wasn't thinking about before the race. I felt good in second in the opening final, but I could see that [Mathias] Bel- lino was tiring a little. I felt strong and pushed hard for the last two laps and got the win I needed. Although I got second in the second race I still felt like I could get the overall win. The last race went really well and to end the series with the overall win here in France, and with the title, is just great… it's been another great championship." KTM's Jonny Walker finished second overall with Husky's Mathias Bellino third. REED FORCED OUT OF SUPERCROSS SERIES T eam owner/racer Chad Reed will ditch the latter to become the former for the rest of the 2014 Supercross Series with the Aus- tralian undergoing surgery that will keep him off the track until the AMA National Motocross Cham- pionship that begins on May 24. In the meantime, Reed is putting on his team owner hat full time and has reached an agreement with Dean Wilson to ride select rounds of the East Coast 450 Su- percross Series on the Discount Tire Racing/TwoTwo Motorsports Kawasaki. Reed underwent surgery last week to repair the injuries he suffered at the San Diego Super- cross nearly three weeks ago. The Australian attempted to ride at the Dallas Supercross, but was unable to complete the task be- cause of the three broken bones in his shoulder. "For me I'm ready to heal up and get back into training and fo- cus my time and energy on getting ready for outdoors," said Reed. "I'm excited for Dean because it is the team's long-term goal to have multiple riders on the team and Dean's name has been kicked around the semi for a long time. This is our first chance to see how it goes with another rider in the mix. Not only is Dean a good friend, but is also somebody who I respect for his talent. I'm excited for the chance to work with him and not dwell on the fact that I'm out of the championship. I'm ex- cited to put a headset on and go to the races as team owner and try to see what we can do and have fun with Deano." Wilson will ride for the team beginning at this weekend's In- dianapolis round. He will return to Mitch Payton's Monster Energy/ Pro Circuit/Kawasaki Team for the remaining 250 West Super- cross Series rounds, beginning with the May 4 Houston Super- cross. Chad Reed underwent shoulder surgery last week that will knock him out of the rest of the 2014 Supercross season.

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