On The Pegs May 2018 - Volume 3 - Issue 5 | Page 99

On The Pegs
Vol. 3 Issue 5 - May 2018
P 99
Big Rocks,
Big Drops
and Big Cheers
48th El Trial De España
Anza, California, April 14-15, 2018
Story and Photos By Bob Theobald
A
pril 14-15, 2018 brought on the 48th running of
the El Trial De España hosted by the SoCal Trials
Association. Held at the MotoVentures/DirtFirst Train-
ing Center in Anza California, riders were greeted with
excellent sunny California weather.
This year’s event brought out some big guns and
young guns for the Pro shootout. 9-time National
Champion Pat Smage wanted to get his name on the
trophy for a second time and 16-year-old Josh Roper
made his first attempt. Daniel Blanc-Gonnet, now rid-
ing for Gas Gas, entered the battle and Alex Niederer
joined in after making the drive across the I-10 from
Florida.
The two day is very spectator friendly. The Pro riders
complete one loop on the main course, and then use
those scores to determine the seeding for the “El Trial”
Pro Shootout on Saturday afternoon. They then finish
up with 3 loops on Sunday morning and the overall
score crowns the champion.