On The Pegs Vol . 3 Issue 3 - June 2018 P 61
On The Pegs Vol . 3 Issue 3 - June 2018 P 61
USA ’ S KYLEE SWEETEN ES THROUGH A NARROW THE WOMRN ’ S PRO CLASS of 129 points , with Wentzel ( 155 ) and Andreas Niederer ( 161 ) rounding out the top six .
Other than one point in section seven , Smage took all of his points during Sunday ’ s event in section 12 , a section that featured a steep , sandy downhill that left little room at the bottom for stopping . Most of the riders ran over the ribbon at the bottom of the drop , however , Smage managed a three on his first two rides .
At the end of the day , Smage ’ s 3-3-6 loop scores were more than good enough for win number four on the season .
“ Overall , it was a good weekend ,” said Smage . “ I had a lot of clean rides during the two days , so overall I feel like I ’ m riding well . There are a few little things I need to work on to improve for the remainder of the season , but the factory Sherco is working really well and I ’ m really looking forward to the east coast rounds .”
Blanc-Gonnet got his revenge on Niederer on Sunday , holding off a late charge by his teammate to take the win by virtue of a tiebreaker after the two riders tied with a score of 47 points after 36 sections . Blanc-Gonnet was disappointed that it came to a tiebreaker after getting off to such a good start to the day . In the end , Blanc-Gonnet edged Niederer by one clean to take the runner-up spot , as the two riders continue to trade finishes .
“ Today was the first time all season that I ’ ve had a strong first loop – I had an 11-point lead over Alex after one lap ,” said Blanc-Gonnet . “ I was definitely feeling the effects of the altitude on the second lap and I started to get a little sloppy . Alex made a charge and came back on me during the final lap , so it came down to the last few sections , and I feel lucky to get the win . It was a real eye-opener for me and I know now I need to work on physical fitness .”
Fourth for the day went to Fastle with a total