With the London Olympics just starting, the world's top riders battled 460 km further north, at Penrith in Cumbria, in the last two rounds of the 2012 FIM World Trials Championship.
Albert Cabestany arrived poised to capture the title of vice-champion of the world. He absolutely did not want to get caught by the rain. Because of that Albert was a bit rushed and committed too many mistakes which cost him 82 points. Ironically, the rain came down well after the passage of the last competitor. At the finish of the 12th round Albert found himself in sixth place, even on points with Adam Raga (GasGas) in the title race for the runner-up position. Alexandre Ferrer confirmed all the good things that we think about him. He finished in a very respectable 8th place with 105 points.
On Sunday which was the final round of the Championship, Albert Cabestany started out feeling stressed, he was riding terrain that he really did not care for. Despite his best efforts he was not able to ride the way he wanted to, especially since the on again, off again rain made the conditions change - conditions that Albert hates. With 52 points, he finished fifth in the final round and fourth in the Championship.
Albert Cabestany: "I had a great season and I'm really disappointed with this last race. I found it very difficult to feel good about the ride. From the start on Saturday and the changing conditions on Sunday along with my lack of feeling good about my riding I was truly disabled.”
On Saturday Alexandre Ferrer confirmed all the good things that we think about him. Saturday, he finished in a very respectable 8th place with 105 points. On Sunday Alexandre also had a more difficult day. He finished 11th with 101 points.
For his third ride as a World Pro, Alexandre is very satisfied with his results. He had some truly brilliant rides in some of the very difficult sections, which just adds to his confidence for the future. We have yet to see his full potential.
In the Junior class, three young riders were wearing the Sherco colors. Cedric Tempier finished 8th on Saturday with 73 points and 10th on Sunday with 55 points. Håkon Pedersen finished 11th on Saturday with 84 points and 9th on Sunday with 53 points. Ben Morphett finished 12th on Saturday with 92 points and 15th on Sunday with 65 points. In the final championship standings, Alexandre Ferrer remains the 2012 Junior Class World Champion, Cedric Tempier's finished 9th and Håkon Pedersen finished 11th.
In the Youth class, Oriol Noguera finished with 31 points on Saturday for a superb third place finish, Luke Walker followed closely with 33 points and 4th place. On Sunday, Luke repeated his place from the day before with 39 points and a nice 4th place, Oriol finished sixth with 42 points. In the championship standings, despite their non-participation in the races which were held in Japan and Australia, Oriol Noguera finished 5th and Luke Walker finished 8th.