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By - Lexy Thorogood:
Check out - STEFAN`S W/SITE: for photos, profile, calendar, etc.
The rain promised on Sunday never eventuated and the conditions were dry.
Today was closer than yesterday as Salminen and Merriman battled it out for the overall
World Enduro Champion title. Less than three seconds separated the two riders for the whole day.
Aro and Cervantes were fast in the beginning but were pushed back into third and fourth in the final
lap as the heat was on between Merriman and Salminen.
On the last lap, Merriman was gaining momentum
taking 2 seconds on Salminen in the long, flowing cross test and following it up with a 3 second victory
in the enduro test.
Just as the riders approached the final test of the day (the extreme test) the skies
opened and the rain promised all weekend began to bucket down. Then the unthinkable happened,
Merriman crashed on a slippery corner in the short extreme test and lost 5 second to Salminen.
This crash effectively cost him the title as Salminen won by 1.28 seconds. Stefan was
absolutely devastated.
Despite not offering any financial reward for Stefan this
\'Overall World Enduro Champion\' title is something Merriman had been
aiming for all season, and now he will have to wait another year to
displace Salminen!
For results check - STEFAN`S W/SITE:
