Everts takes another win at Valance

Rinaldi Yamaha rider Stefan Everts continued his victorious pre-season form by taking another overall triumph at the Valance International in France yesterday. The Belgian and reigning MX1 World Champion has won every major 'warm-up' event since the motocross calendar cranked into life at Mantova, Italy in February. His fifth success in as many weeks arrived thanks to another 1-1 set of results. He holeshotted both motos and enjoyed a tussle with KTM's Mickael Pichon in the first race before defeating his great rival. In the second sprint he controlled the heat from the first turn until the chequered flag. "In the first race I holeshotted but I had a small crash after a few laps and that put me back to fourth," he said. "Two laps later I had worked my way back to second and was attacking Pichon. It was a difficult track to pass and we had a tough battle; it must have been quite spectacular for the fans! Towards the end I was able to make a pass and won the heat." "In the second moto my start was again very good," he added. "Another holeshot meant that I was able to lead from start to finish. After fifteen minutes I already had a small gap over the others." Everts has now guided the YZ 450FM to the top of the podium in Belgium, Italy, France (twice) and the United Kingdom and is perfectly placed to stretch the run into the first round of the 2006 FIM World Championships that will take place on April 1st/2nd at Zolder in Belgium for the Grand Prix of Flanders. "This was my last race until Zolder and the whole pre-season period has left me with a great feeling," he concluded. "I will train hard for another few days and then take a small break before the first Grand Prix so that my body is fresh. To start so well in Valance was something incredible. Half of the race is won with a holeshot. In the past I have been struggling but we have worked on the bike and hopefully we will have a hard package to beat for the GPs." Cedric Melotte is still recovering from his injured wrist but was able to post results of 16th and 10th. Bike it Yamaha's Julien Bill grabbed a decent 6th position in the second moto. MX1 Moto1 1 Everts 2 Pichon 3 Tortelli 4 T.Leok 5 Leuret 6 Demaria 7 S.Pourcel 8 Friebergs 9 Martin 10 Theybers 16 Melotte MX1 Moto2 1 Everts 2 Tortelli 3 Pichon 4 S.Pourcel 5 Leuret 6 Bill 7 Demaria 8 Breugelmans 9 Martin 10 Melotte