The British Trials Cup got off to a great start on Sunday 18th March at Bracken Rocks in Derbyshire. Some 60 riders turned out for the opening round of the national season, with plenty of new faces among the familiar old ones. As usual, riders would have to complete two laps of eight sections, which had been set over the previous two days on the wooded slopes of the popular venue. Unfortunately, with the sections having been set in dry and dusty conditions, it rained the night before the trial, meaning that the section setters were out early reassessing the sections and altering a few of the more dangerous gates. Despite the wet and muddy conditions, everyone set off in high spirits to attack the sections and cheered up even more when the sun came out at midday. This did have the effect, however, of drying the previously slippery mud into a very sticky clay, adding pounds of weight to everyone’s bikes as it clung to their tyres, shoes and clothing. This meant that there were some relatively high scores over the course of the day, with the already difficult sections rendered harder by the conditions.

In UCI World Elite, the Biketrial Federation’s answer to the Super Elite class, designed to test and challenge those riders who would be competing at the highest international level, scores were uncharacteristically high, as the sections and the mud claimed several fives and picked points off the riders. Jack Carthy (Enter Bike) rode very strongly on his first lap, finishing on 15 having cleaned five of the sections in quick succession before picking up three fives in the woods, falling victim to a seemingly impossible rock slab in section 4 that the Elite riders all struggled with and being sent over the bars through a blue gate having cleaned the huge opening rock in section 3. His talent shone through, however, as he showed just why he is the current favourite for the national title, landing huge gaps inch-perfectly where other riders simply bounced back off the landing and hopping deftly from rock to rock on his rear wheel as many others struggled through using their feet and pedals. Andrei Burton (Echo) was just one point on 16 behind after lap one, his competition experience helping him through the tough sections. He picked up a five on section eight, coming up short on the opening rock, which had an incredible tight and awkward take-off. Still, it meant that, for this lap at least, he didn’t have to contend with the big hook that had injured him two years previously! Jack had a similar second lap, dropping a few extra points in the stickier afternoon mud and fiving section 8 despite managing to get through section three to finish on a total of 34 points and take the win. Andrei dropped 22 points on his second lap, with three fives in the woods, to finish in second place on 38. Tribal Rider Dave Kerr, who was the only rider riding both 20” and 26” in World Elite, put in a sterling performance, riding four laps of the eight sections and finishing in third place (on his 26”) and 5th place (on his 20”). Having completed his first two laps on his 20” and finished on 58, he picked up his 26” and set off to attack the sections once more. He was a little off the pace (understandably, he must have been tired!), picking up five fives on his first lap before steeling himself to put in an impressive second lap of just 19 points, including a clean on section four, the only rider to do so, to finish on 46. Joe Seddon (Onza) finished in fourth place on 54, riding confidently on his new Onza Genesis, while series sponsor 3SIXTY’s Brett Penfold retired after a first lap of 28.

In the ‘normal’ Elite class, riders were riding under the new 50/50 rules, borrowed from motorbike trials. This meant that they were to ride the four hardest Expert sections and the four ‘easiest’ Elite sections. Tarty Bikes’ In Elite 26” Tom Rankin took the win, dropping 22 on his first lap and 18 on his second to finish with a total of 40 points. He was riding strongly on his Kabra F24 and obviously having fun, bantering with M.A.D./Tribal Zine rider Steve Rogers as they made their way round the sections together. 3SIXTY’s Alec Wray finished in second place on 44, faring somewhat better on his second lap than his first and Steve Rogers completed the podium on 46, finishing behind Alec despite having picked up less fives; his make-sure-with-a-dab approach obviously less effective this time than Alec’s clean-or-five. Ali Clarkson (Inspired), in a return to competition after having turned to street a few years ago, finished in fourth place on 48. He’ll have been kicking himself though, had it not been for a couple of fives brought about by some self-confessed showboating, he’d have been in first place! 3SIXTY/Tribal Zine’s Jamie Bew brought up the rear on 61 after a valiant performance in his first national competition in Elite that saw him improve steadily as the day went on.

Elite 20" saw Jack Chapman take the win on 42 points, dropping 21 on each lap. He was joined on the podium by Rob Poyser in second and Dan Wheeler in third, both on 53. Rob had managed more cleans however, which saw him awarded silver. Tom Astbury was unfortunately unable to start; he tweaked his back in practice, and injury which saw him being helped down from the rocks by the British Red Cross volunteers – the same ones who had helped Tribal Zine’s Ben Swales last September after he broke his ankle. We like to keep them busy!

James Bancroft took the win in Expert 26", finishing on 46 ahead of Chris Hinson on 57 and Jed Hesling on 60. Joe Prattley (67)and Lee McCaw (72) were the only other riders to complete the trial in this class, with others retiring or moving down a class after a few sections. Owen Gawthorpe, in his first competition since breaking his ankle at the end of last season, finished first in Expert 20”, finishing on just 25 points. He was followed by Connor Manthorpe on 28 and Richard Tickner on 51. Chris Bland finished in fourth place on 61 points.

Cadet riders were riding to 50/50 rules as well, taking in the hardest four Intermediate sections and the Easiest four Expert sections on their way round. Tribal Riders Charlie Rolls romped round on just nine points, impressing everybody with his balance, control and power, despite his small size. He was joined on the podium by TJ Reynoldson on 20 and Adam Morewood (Tarty Bikes/MRS on 32. Tribal Zine’s newest recruit, James Davies, who was also riding for Rock’n’Roll Bikes finished in fourth place in his first ever national competition, making short work of the sections despite his lack of competition experience. In Senior, another new category for 2012, Dave Barratt finished in first place on 57, followed by Derek Coates in second on 77. Donna Fox, the only entrant in the Ladies class, finished on 19 points to take the gold medal by default, although that by no means takes away from her impressive performance and score! Tribal Zine’s Sam Rolls finished on 18, just beating Donna’s score, to take the win in Intermediate class ahead of Toby Smith on 28 and Jordan Seymour on 49. Jordan’s brother Reece finished in first place in Novice on just five points, all picked up on his first lap as he cleaned all eight sections second time round! Second place went to Andrew Heeley on 18 and third to Elliot Tickner on 24. Adam Biggins took the gold medal in Primary class, finishing on 23 points in his first ever trial!

Podiums:

Here are the top three finishers in each class, see below for the full results.

UCI World Elite

Elite 26”

Elite 20”

Expert 26”

Expert 20”

Cadet

Senior

Ladies

Intermediate

Novice

Primary

Full Results:

Click below to see the full results for all classes…

Huge thanks to all of the organisers, observers, helpers and riders for making it such a great start to the season!

There are six more rounds of the British Trials Cup, as follows:

Photos:

Thanks to Nadine Staniforth (Trials Queens), Paul Hesling, John Aylott and Ben Swales for the photos