California Trial Invitational 2021
Jean Turner | April 20, 2021
After the marked success of its inaugural event last summer (amid the Covid-stricken landscape of motorcycle racing), GasGas North America headquarters once again hosted a national trials competition in its own back yard test track. The second-annual California Trials Invitational welcomed some of the top AMA Mototrials riders in the country, where Factory TRRS USA rider Josh Roper squeaked out a win by the narrowest of possible margins over Beta USA rider Alex Niederer, with defending champion Karl Davis rounding out the overall podium.
At the end of two rounds of the six-stage course, Roper and Niederer found themselves tied on points, tied on cleans, tied on fives, as well as ones, twos and threes. Never before had either rider seen a competition tie completely across the board. And since the exhibition-style event didn’t allow for an overall time factor, the decision ultimately came down to who had scored the first point—Niederer—handing the win to Roper.
Vertigo rider Davis and GasGas’ Daniel Blanc-Gonnet also tied for third, with the tiebreaker handing the podium spot to Davis. The ties continued down the board for brothers Alex and Will Meyers, with Alex edging out his younger brother for fifth. Sixteen-year-old Will Meyers, however, showed some brilliant rides, affirming his spot as up-and-coming talent to watch in the North American trials scene.
In the women’s competition, Louise Forsley narrowly edged out runner-up Maddie Hoover and third-place Kylee Sweeten for the championship, the trio only separated by two points in the end.
The second-annual California Trial Invitational, the brainchild of ten-time National Trials Champion Geoff Aaron was another well-attended event, this time with the backing of Red Bull and Fox Sports. Keep an eye on Cycle News Racing On The Tube for when the national broadcast of the event will air.