09/09/12, European Championship: round 6, Zelhem, HOL

Italian Francesco Cabrini and Dutch Marco Reit, both riding Italian Beta, have joined Matteo Grattarola in becoming European champion in the sixth and last round, held at Zelhem, Holland, near German borders. An other sunny day, after the wonderful weather which delighted the Youth and Women, who competed the day before, and the same restricted area, easily reachable by the public, offered to the riders a Trial very modern and spectacular.

The already champion Matteo Grattarola (Gas Gas)had a goal: to equal the record made by Joan Pons in 1992, at the first UEM Trials Championship: six wins in six rounds. And he succesed, though it was not easy to defend himself by a determined Spanish Pere Borrellas, who was leader at half competition and smelled perfume of final podium in the championship, if only he would have been able to keep that position. But in second lap, Grattarola recovered very well, going to take home his sixth win in a row. Borrellas slid to the second place and his rival for the podium, Italian Matteo Poli (Ossa), finishing in fifth place, kept the final third place by just one single point. On the third place of the podium, today Belgian Maxime Warengheim (Gas Gas), who preceded Daniele Maurino, Ossa, runner-up in the championship.

A piece of cake for Italian Francesco Cabrini (Beta) to be crowned in the Junior class. It was sufficient to finish in thirteenth place, but without counting, he competed for winning. After the first lap. He was firmly the leader, but some little mistakes he did in the second part of the competition, encouraged his rivals. At last, in one point we found the three podium riders. The win went to Italian Pietro Petrangeli (Beta), one point behind Norwegian Sverre Lundvold (Gas Gas) and Cabrini were tied The former got the second place for the number of cleans. In the Junior Cup, behind Cabrini, nothing changed. Lundevold second and Petrangeli third.

Reit champion before starting in the Over 40 class, because the only one who could threaten his lead, Finnish Tommi Ahvala (Gas Gas), was not present. Reit honoured his fresh title with a superlative victory. In front of his public he cleaned the whole competition! Second his country mate John Van Veelen (Ossa) , third in the final standing for the Cup and on third position of the rostrum, an other past star of the world championship, Belgian Dany Crosset (Gas Gas).

One woman in front of other 12 men in the International class. But she is not simply a woman, she is the 2012 Women European champion, British Becky Cook (Beta), who dominated this class, scoring only 4 points in total.

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