Szoke splashes to Trials victory

From Waznie Racing

Defending CMA National Trials champion Jordan Szoke rode his Raga GasGas 300 to victory in a shortened opening round of the season in Ohsweken, ON last weekend.

As raindrops fell heavily on the 15 carefully laid out sections, event organizers rallied all 40 riders to discuss if Mother Nature had dampened their spirits enough to reschedule the event. But instead the crew worked hard and tirelessly in the muck to cut back the sections to a challenging eight.

Riding in soupy clay and standing water took a bit of getting used to as Szoke scored 16 of his total 21 points in the first loop. For the remainder of the trial the Brantford, ON rider kept his feet up and his mind focused and only scored five points in the final three loops to take the victory. 

“It feels good to start off my title defense with a win,” Szoke said. “It sucks that the rain ruined some of the sections, I really was looking forward to riding them all. It was an extremely well run event and I really appreciate the hard work and effort the organizers put into it.” 

Szoke's good friends and 2009 Trials des Nations teammates Jonathan English and Andrew Young completed the podium. English came in second with a score of 29 and Young took home third place with a score of 50.

Szoke will continue defence of his CMA Trials Championship at Rounds 2 and 3 in Tweed and Arden, ON Aug. 21-22.