Raga on Podium on Duluth day 1
Duluth, MN, June 5th 2004.
The riders had anticipated a low scoring event after Fridays section inspection, but Mother Nature threw her cards on the table early on Saturday morning, and threw out some rain. First a trickle, then a healthy smattering, then it cleared.... for about 10 minutes. Just when everyone thought the clearing was a trend, the skies opened and dropped an hours worth of heavy rain. Of course, the top riders don't shy away from these conditions, and most of the top men actually welcomed the increased difficulty. The conventional wisdom at this point suggested that Lampkin would walk the event, and that Jarvis would rise to the top. Those Trials statisticians that have been paying attention have also noted that Fujigas has been getting very comfortable in the wet, and even the dry specialist Adam Raga has been known to shine in the mud.
With all of this in mind, the day began. Section 1 was an easy opener with a slick exit jump off a log. Section two marked the start of the difficult sections. Three incorporated the infamous wall from the 2002 event. There were some sections where a three was the best prospect, some where potentially going over the 90 second limit was the biggest challenge, and a couple where fives were the only reality. Section 7 was attempted by a few, but punched through by most. The only score other than 5 was by Graham Jarvis, who was given a three on his second loop. This was 'observer error' by Grahams own admission. Section 9 was ridden by one of the junior riders, who drowned his bike in 4 feet of water, and was then abandoned for the rest of the day.
At the end of loop 1, Lampkin held the lead on 24, with Jarvis on 26 and Fuji on 27. Raga was next up on 31, repeating his slow starts fromn Japan two weeks before.
On loop two, the order was shaken by a huge crash by Lampkin on Section 3. This section was the famous 16' 'wall'. With a slick approach, it was obviously becoming a bit more dangerous. Dougie's back tire span on the 4th gear flat out run up, and instead of doing a splatter, Dougie's front wheel stayed flat and punched straight into the wall. The massive impact caused significant damage to the Montesa's front end, and Dougie fell back onto some rocks at the base. This was a serious crash, and onlookers were clearly worried for Dougie's well-being. He didn't move for quite a while, but eventually was helped to his feet. Being the competitor he is, Dougie somehow managed to continue, although his subsequent scores certainly suffered, and his end result was his lowest for years. After the event, Dougie was seen walking very stiffly to his car.
Meanwhile, Fujigas was having a great lap, with the exception of a hard five on section 8. His second loop score of 18 was only bettered by Raga's 17. Jarvis came in with a 23, which was good enough to hang on to second. Dougie, remarkably, was just one point behind Graham. Jeroni Fajardo continued his impressive run with a fine 8th place. This puts Fuji firmly in first place in the Championship, with Dougie in second, and Raga third. It's lookin like a three horse race for the title. More news tomorrow!
