Photos: @Phototrial.it
British Iwan Roberts (Beta, photo1) managed to beat Spanish Miquel Gelabert (Sherco) by one single point in the fourth round of the 2016 European Trial Championship, held in Sokolov, Czech Republic.
Both started very well and got a smooth lead on all the others after the first lap, in which Roberts scored 5 marks against the still good 7 points of Gelabert. In the 15 sections to repeat twice, the best ones behind them were two riders with 14 penalties: British Toby Martyn (Beta) and Norwegian Ib Vegard Andersen (Beta). Only eighth place for the other favorite, runner-up in the overall standings, Dan Peace (Gas Gas) with 20 points. In the second loop Gelabert tried to recover his 2 points of distance from the top, which led him to partial success, scoring one point less than leader Roberts who kept the first place and gained his first victory of th season. Galabert in second place was satisfied enough, because he stretched his gap in the overall standing, and now he has 40 points on Peace, only sixth today, even if he was the best rider in the second lap. Third step of podium for Martyn.
Another member of the Peace family, his brother Jack (photo2), today won his fourth round in the Junior class, which means that he is very close to win the 2016 Junior Cup. The big and well skilled Italian group who fought with him, finished once more behind. At the turning point the fight was still open, because only 3 points separated Jack from Sergio Piardi (Beta): 8 against 11. Luca Corvi (Scorpa) scoring 14 was anyway in the game. But in the second lap Jack lost only 4 marks and cleared any doubt. Piardi confirmed his second position, while Corvi was passed by his teammate Manuel Copetti who grabbed the last step of the podium, climbing it for the first time this season.
Big triumph for German Markus Kipp (Beta) in Over 40 class: he scored 2 points in each lap, gaining an incredible advantage on Slovakian Vladimir Kothay (Beta) second but with 30 points. Just one point more for the third: the local rider Pavel Kohout (TRS). Kipp is the first 2016 European champion: he won the Over 40 Cup.
In the International 1 ex-world rider Czech Pavel Balas (Gas Gas) won easily scoring half points of the rider in second place. German domain in International 2 with 8 riders in the first eight places. The winner was Peter Mohr (Sherco) by just one point on Timmy Hippel (Beta).
Tomorrow on the same sections the fifth round will be held.
