line , on his first loop . Smage had an unfortunate start to his day in section 5 . Successfully clearing the first four sections , neither Pat nor his brother David , acting as Pat ’ s minder , noticed that the section ’ s boundary ribbon was close to his rear tire . When Pat tried to roll forward , the tire ’ s tread caught the ribbon , breaking it and earning a very costly five points . Although taking a few small dabs in three additional sections , Pat would ultimately salvage second place on the day .
The most interesting part of being a spectator for this event was seeing how Miguel ’ s riding style impacted the American riders . Although some riders like Pat admitted that the Spaniard ’ s style was so different from their own that it would require a lot of changes to pick up any potential tips / tricks , some riders like Roper seemed to focus more on how Miguel approached the gates in the section and made visible changes as the weekend progressed .
Section 7 on Sunday was a good example . For the Pro line , riders entered the section along a rocky ledge , only to drop into the bottom of a rocky channel . From there , riders
ON THE PEGS // PAGE 116