Raga Third Again, but happy.
Duluth, MN June 6th 2004.
When the riders woke up they were greeted by clear blue skies. It soon heated up, and the day turned out to be a scorcher. Where the riders had anticipated the day to be as slippery as Saturday, they were not prepared for conditions to change so radically. The first loop was still slimy, but the second was dry!
Dougie was expected to be in pain, and he later stated that at the start of the day he was still sore, but he worked through it and was in good form all day. The biggest factors on the day were Fuji's good luck, and Dougie's bad luck. With scores likely to be low, mistakes were expensive. On section 13, Dougie missed a marker that had been added for Sunday. It was an insignificant split, and Dougie seemed to notice it on his walk through, but on his ride he went the wrong way, giving him a five that would ruin his day. On lap two, as Dougie was walking section 8, the announcer followed Fuji through section seven. He said "... and Fuji is out for a 1... no wait, he's been given a five". Fuji had apparently gone over the 90 second limit. Team Lampkin were visibly energized by this. A few moments later, the announcer said Fuji's score had been changed back to a 1. Team Lampkin visibly deflated at that news. Fuji had also been lucky in section two, where Fuji's front wheel disturbed a rock, which rolled right into his line on the approach to a huge wall. The observers allowed Fuji's minder to get into the section and remove the rock from under Fuji's bike. Such things happen with all riders, but today was Fuji's lucky day. Fuji's scores were 12 and 3. Dougie scored 15 then 2. Raga went 14 then 3 and lost second in a tie breaker with Dougie. Raga was very happy with third, as he freely confesses that he's at a disadvantage in slippery going.
In the championship, Fuji is in great shape. He's won the last four rounds, giving him a ten point cushion over Dougie, while Raga is a clear third a further 7 points adrift. With 8 rounds gone and 10 to go it's still wide open.
