TMX Says - The mark of a true champion

By TMX Archives on 10th May 17

Colunists

They say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas which is possibly true for the majority of visitors to Sin City but when the stuff you get up to is beamed out live around the globe then its fairly difficult to keep it on the down low.

In case you somehow missed them, both main events at the AMA Supercross finale were absolute doozies. 

Zach Osborne's charge through the pack from last to take out Joey Savatgy by surprise in the second-to-last turn – and ultimately win the 250 East title – was the stuff of legend while Eli Tomac's attempts to snatch the 450 title from Ryan Dungey's grasp were definitely entertaining. 

With championship titles and sizable win bonuses on the line I'm not too surprised that these types of tactics were deployed. 

What I am shocked to see though is that many of the same people who dis potentially controversial moves used by other riders in other championships, congratulating those involved for showing ‘grit', ‘determination' and ‘passion'. 

So we're saying that Osborne is a hero for sideswiping Savatgy yet Jose Butron is a douche bag for taking out Tim Gajser in Kegums, right? 

While I agree that Osborne is a hero it's not because of that one single move. 

To be fair the three points he scored in Detroit after pitting to replace a front wheel were just as important as making that pass but nobody's hooting and a hollering about it. 

Regular readers will know that I'm as much of a hypocrite as the next guy but a potentially dangerous move is still a potentially dangerous move even if it is pulled by someone you love and respect. 

That's probably something I need to remember when other riders in other championships use potentially controversial moves to get their job done. Hmmm. 

Moving on I have to say a huge well done to Dougie Lampkin who claimed his 11th victory in the Scottish Six Day Trial at the weekend. 

While that win is impressive enough I think the fact that he didn't go into total meltdown after losing his only mark of the whole event, midway through the final day, is even more remarkable. 

If it were me I'd have kicked some rocks, scared some wild haggis (they're an animal, right?) and invented some new swear words for sure. 

The new-look Trial World Championship kicks off in Spain this weekend and it's gonna be interesting to see how it all goes down what with the new qualifying system, revised class structure and career numbers for the TrialGP competitors. 

For sure, as a Jake Miller production it's all gonna be much slicker and way better presented than ever before but as a sporting contest I expect the outcome is gonna be similar to years gone by and I don't see that changing any time soon. 

If you actually look back at the top three of TWC standings over the past 15 years you'll see seven names – Lampkin, Takahisa Fujinami, Marc Freixa, Albert Cabestany, Adam Raga, Toni Bou and Jeroni Fajardo. 

Lampkin and Freixa are now retired from TWC competition and the other five finished first, second, third, fourth and fifth in the 2016 standings. 

That's bonkers! With the majority of the sport's top stars now the top side of 30 the big question is when are we gonna see the new wave take over? 

On current form I guess it's up to Jaime Busto or Jack Price to answer that question...

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