Fast n' loose
By TMX Archives on 6th Dec 04
Paul gives it beans indoors at Barcelona and Las Vegas FINALLY THE season has come to an end and I can now relax and spend some quality time at home. It's been a busy but enjoyable year and looking back pretty damn successful The racing has been fun and running the team has been hard but overall it's been one of my best years ever. After finally getting all the sand out of my eyes from Weston this month I've had two indoor enduros to contend with - one in Spain and the other in Las Vegas. Barcelona proved yet again how enthusiastic the Spaniards are about the sport of enduro and with 7000 people present the event was yet again a huge success. The race for me went well and as usual I ended up second - surprise, surprise! In the super final I ended up not second but on the floor after coming together with Bazzuri but other than that it was great fun and hopefully I can win the event next year. Now for the big one and off to Las Vegas for the endurocross event! I flew out with Knighter, Jonty and Bart to Vegas complete with my suspension and kit bag. I had to leave the mechanics at home for this one so I opted to be mechanic as well as rider. Upon arriving we went to the stadium and couldn't believe how near we were to the famous Las Vegas strip and to have an event so accessible to the people in a massive city was mind blowing. After dropping a few spanners and getting the machine ready we were soon greeted by practice - and only getting one lap of practice and one qualifying lap was pretty hard especially as we'd flown 12 hours to get there. So with not much time on the bike we were soon on to the races. The first heat was to prove how the night was going to go as I got a good start only to clip a log and end up going over the handlebars, landing on my arse. After picking myself up I ended up finishing third and with only the top two going straight through to the final it meant I had to do the semis. Again, a good start in the semi saw myself battling with two completely crazy Americans who were riding like their lives depended on it. It soon started getting aggressive and it was like I was trying to get knocked off in every corner. However, I managed to hold it together and won my race. I didn't get a good gate pick for the final but I was soon up and running and battling from the rear - unfortunately on the second lap I went to pass a rider who crashed right in front of me and before I knew it the Honda was on top of a KTM so that pretty much spoilt my chances of a good result. I did enjoy the race and think that the 3,500 strong crowd enjoyed the racing as well. After speaking to many people I think this will definitely take off in the US and I'm sure we will be doing more races in the near future. So with the racing over it's time to relax and finish all the deals for the team and help out at the unit. My plan for December will be to start with some physical training most mornings before heading to the unit where I will be doing some work for the first time. I must congratulate our new signing too tall McConnell on a great result at the John Banks and warn him that he'll not be having it as easy next season. Knowing how keen he is and hopefully how much time he has had on the bike I'm sure he'll impress a few people next year. Another signing for the team is 19-year-old Polish rider Michael Szutler who'll be a part-time rider in WEC and who we plan on bringing on through the team. He has to finish school this year and after watching him at the ISDE I hope he'll be a rider for the future. That's pretty much it for now other than wishing you all a merry Christmas and to thank those of you who actually read my column - have a drink for me. By Paul Edmondson