2007 Trial World Championship Round 8

Myslenice, Poland 7/8/2007 - Attendance: 3,000

Lost Second with Two Over Time

ITWC traveled to the Eastern Europe as the round eight took place at the town of Myslenice in Poland. Myslenice held the event last year after ten years of absence, and some of the sections for this year were similar to the last year's, as early sections were located along the river, then up in the hill after crossing the river. It was Fujinami's favorite type with a lots of wet and rocky surfaces.

Fuji felt strong going into the Polish round because it was the round he started a winning streak last year. This year however, he finished outside the podium despite fighting for the victory one time, and for second till the end. Fuji at least could have finished on the podium, second to be exact, so the round ended with a regrettable result, again.

Top five riders completed Lap1 within five points and Bou leading the group with a slim advantage. Fuji was three points behind the leader, and by the time, all five riders had a chance for taking the victory. Bou looked a bit nervous before Lap2, knowing it was going to be a furious battle for the latter lap, but he showed a strong concentration to mark many cleans when the competition got underway. Bou was getting away, and Fuji shifted his game plan to fight for the second place when he found himself being in a tie with Raga by the middle of the lap.

Fuji was riding well and felt comfortable to take his time at the sections knowing he had a plenty of time left as previously informed. But when he arrived at the section 13, he was told that he had only five minutes. There was confusion within Fuji's team for managing time, and they were not sure if Fuji had five or 25 minutes. There was no time to sit there and discuss, so Fuji went on to hurry his ride in case the shocking news was true. Originally, since there was no time-consuming section in Poland, he was supposed to complete the two laps in time without any problem. Riding final three sections in five minutes was tall order for Fuji, and when he checked the time as he finished the lap, he found out he didn't finish in time.

Fuji completed the two lap with five hours 32 minutes and 21 seconds, and he was imposed two over-time penalty points. Fuji finished fourth with 31 points, two points down from second place Raga and one point from the third place Cabestany. Fuji's result was enough to finish second by the number of cleans if he had no over-time penalty.

Quote from Fujigas:

Finishing fourth was a disappointing result because I thought the second place was a sure thing. I spoke with Bou on the plane heading back to Spain, and he said he was very nervous this year not to repeat the result he had last year, where the event he finished seventh. It must have been an important round for him too. He told me his plan for the rest of the season, which was to finish on the podium to secure the title. I told him he should've respected the senior rider in the team by not winning too many by himself. He joked me back to say "Be second, and I will think about it!" I will win the next round so that Bou would not even need to remember these conversations.

pix: Mario Candellone

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