On The Pegs June 2019 - Volume 4 - Issue 6 | Page 139

On The Pegs
Vol. 4 Issue 6 - June 2019
139
for third with 48 points. North America Gas-
Gas rider Alex Niederer combined spectacu-
lar rides with unlucky ones to finish fourth
with 50 points, while rookie Pro Josh Roper
finished fifth on a FactoryONE-backed Sherco
with 53 points. FactoryONE/Scorpa’s Karl
Davis Jr. was sixth while his teammate Alex
Myers was seventh.
The sections were somewhat drier on
Sunday and so a little easier. These are not
exactly the conditions the top riders enjoy,
but nonetheless, Smage nailed his feet to the
pegs and cranked out a rare clean trial, zero-
ing all 36 sections en route to an emphatic
win.
Perhaps the surprise of the day came from
one of the rookies, Alex Myers, who snuck
up on a few pros to claim the runner-up slot
behind Smage in only his second event in the
Pro class. Myers dropped 8 points on his first
lap and 13 on his second, but turned up the
heat on the final lap to produce a stunning
2-point lap for a total of 23 for the day.
“This kind of surprised me,” said Myers.
“Yesterday I had a seventh place, which
wasn’t where I wanted to be on my first ride
in the Pro class. But today I just gathered
what I learned from yesterday and put it all
together. At the end of the day, I worked all
the kinks out and I’m super happy to get
second. “
GasGas North America’s Alex Niederer
rounded out the podium with 27 points
despite suffering an unlucky five in the final
section. Avendano was fourth with 29, while
Roper once again finished fifth.
Smage was happy to get the first rounds of