VOL. 53 ISSUE 20 MAY 24, 2016 P31
shake off some of the rust; and
though he cleaned section sev-
en on the opening lap, he fived it
on his second time through.
On lap three, Smage needed
just one point to navigate the
12-section course, and he ended
the day with six total points
(3/2/1) to give him a decisive
victory.
"I felt I rode well consider-
ing it was the first event of the
season," said Smage. "A couple
of my points came from just ner-
vous dabs or in situations where
I was close to the ribbon and
rather than risk a five I just took
a point."
Freixa's second lap consisted
of five points, though he whittled
his score down to two points on
his final lap, giving him a total
of 13 for the day and second
overall.
"I'm happy with how I rode,
considering it's my first competi-
tion in a long time," said Freixa.
"It was difficult, and I got tired,
but there are plenty more rounds
to go."
Andrew Putt (Team RYP
Sherco) rounded out the podium
on Saturday with a total of 27
points. The Pennsylvania rider
got off to a shaky start, dropping
18 points on lap one, but came
back with six on lap two in addi-
tion to an excellent three-point
final lap.
On Sunday, Freixa turned the
tables on Smage, taking a clear
victory after dropping just one
dab all day long, although he
was given a controversial five
when he crossed
his tracks in sec-
tion 11, leaving the
Spaniard with a
total score of six
for the day.
"I don't under-
stand the markers
here in the United
States and it is un-
fortunate but they
called a five for
me," said Freixa.
Sunday's sec-
tions didn't suit
Smage as well as
Saturday's sections did, and the
Sherco rider took a few costly
points on some of the loose
uphill climbs. Smage finished
the event with a total of 15 points
for second place, leaving him
tied for first in the standings with
Freixa.
"These sections didn't really
suit my style, although this is
the kind of stuff I've been trying
to improve on," said Smage. "I
took a lot of points that I know
I shouldn't have and that cost
me today. I'm looking forward to
next week in Tennessee, where
I know the terrain will suit my
style."
Putt rounded out the podium
for the second day in a row,
finishing Sunday's event with 21
points.
"Today was a lot better," said
Putt. "I found my groove on the
first lap instead of on the second
and third loops like yesterday.
After my first loop I was happy
because I knew I could fix the
mistakes I made. On the sec-
ond lap I eliminated one of my
mistakes from the first lap, but
I added a mistake in another
place. But my last lap I was really
proud of, so I think I'm going in
the right direction."
Karl Davis Jr. improved by one
position over Saturday's event,
putting his Scorpa into fourth
place for Sunday with 61 points.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania's
Logan Bolopue rounded out the
top five with a total of 68.
Shan Moore
Saturday (Round 1)
1. Pat Smage (Shr) 6
2. Marc Freixa (Mon) 13
3. Andrew Putt (Shr) 27
4. Alexander Niederer (Gas) 63
5. Karl Davis Jr. (Sco) 64
Sunday (Round 2)
1. Marc Freixa (Mon) 6
2. Pat Smage (Shr) 15
3. Andrew Putt (Shr) 21
4. Karl Davis Jr. (Sco) 61
5. Logan Bolopue (Shr) 68
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
SHAN
MOORE
Former FIM
World Trials
competitor Marc
Freixa answered
back with a
win on Sunday
(round two).
