The British Trials Cup kicked off last weekend at the Surrey Hills Cycle Centre (formerly Hook Woods). There was a great turnout for the opening round of the series, with sizeable entries in all classes. In a change from the ‘spring’ weather we’ve been having lately, the sun was out and it was a warm, dry day. The sections, which had been set by Graham Tickner and his team from the Crowthorne Cycle Trials Club, were tough, with some long, technical ones and plenty of big moves – testing riders’ skill and nerve at the same time.
World Elite
Five riders were competing in 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. There was a welcome return from Andrei Burton (Echo/Andrei Burton Events) and Sam Oliver (Rockman), and series regulars Jack Carthy (Jitsie/Koxx/Enter Bike), Dave Kerr (Cycle Mart) and Scott Wilson (54 Sport) were in attendance as well. From the off, it was a closely fought battle between Jack and Drei, as both rides racked up the cleans, with Sam Oliver following closely behind. Dave Kerr (riding 20” this time) and Scott Wilson were closely matched as well as they made their way round the sections. Towards the end of the first lap, Andrei had picked up three dabs while Jack remained on clean. Section 8, the final section of the lap, had a huge and daunting hook as its opening move, towering over the riders as they lined up at the start. Carthy was up first and looked confident. His first attempt looked good, but he couldn’t get his weight far enough forward and was forced to jump back and try again. Charging forwards, he launched himself up the face of the wall, hooking his front wheel over the top, adjusting his weight and then pulling it up to two wheels. He then made short work of the rest of the section, which featured a few more big gaps and steps, coming in on clean after eight sections. Andrei was next and was looking good as he set up for the move. His front wheel made it over the top of the wall and the spectators were cheering, willing him up to the top. It wasn’t enough, however, as Andrei’s weight pulled him back and he was forced to jump down for a five.
No one else managed to get past the huge section eight opener, giving Jack a comfortable lead going into lap two. Scott Wilson was faring a little better on the gully sections, perhaps more comfortable on the BIU style technical passages. He got through the three sections on this side of the venue with impressive ease, just picking up a dab on a big and tricky sidehop onto a tree trunk. Sam Oliver was riding strongly as well, with only section eight giving him any real problems. He shone on the big power moves, leaping about with his trademark style and poise. Dave Kerr was riding well – obviously as comfortable on little wheels as on his 26” – but came up short on some of the larger moves, meaning he picked up some unfortunate fives over the course of the day. Andrei had improved on his first lap score by one point, putting him on a total of ten with just section eight, with its difficult hook, to go. Jack had cleaned it earlier, putting him out of reach. Andrei pedalled hard at the hook, almost making it stick, but having to leap back to earth once again. He hadn’t beaten Jack but, on just 15 points, he knew that he had second place in the bag so was still smiling. Jack had one gulley section remaining, which he made it round on a clean, riding relaxed now that he knew he could not be beaten. He handed his card in with nothing but zeroes on it to take the win on the perfect score! Sam Oliver finished in third place on 24 points.
| Pos. | Name | Pts. |
| 1. | Jack Carthy | 0 |
| 2. | Andrei Burton | 15 |
| 3. | Sam Oliver | 24 |
Elite
In the Elite class, the top three riders after the first lap were Steve Rogers (M.A.D.), Tom Rankin (Tarty Bikes) and Owen Gawthorpe (Onza), all within one point of each other and none of them looking like they were going to ease off. The second lap was a bit calamitous, however. First off, Owen’s freewheel seized mid-section, forcing him to take a dab I order to get through the final gate. He rushed off to find a replacement while the others kept riding. After that, Steve-o, who was looking like he might take the win, had a worrying crash in section eight that saw him tumbling down a rocky incline and into a big rock at the bottom. It looked bad for a while, but he picked himself up, dusted himself off and decided that he was probably alright to carry on (after a little sit down). His confidence was shaken though, and his leg bruised and painful. He managed to complete his second lap on 22 though, giving him a total of 34 to finish in third place.
Tom Rankin had been making short work of things in the meantime, getting through almost every section on twos, ones and cleans, finishing his second lap on just 11 for a final score of 25. Owen, having fixed his freewheel problem, had his work cut out for him if he wanted to take the top spot. He sailed round the last few sections, picking up just a single dab in each and coming in on 25, matching Tom’s score. That dab when his freewheel would cost him dear, as they were separated on most cleans, with Tom coming out on top with six cleans to Owen’s four. Fourth place went to Stan Shaw (Tarty Bikes/Trialtech/Stan Titanium) on 39 after a steady ride.
| Pos. | Name | Pts. |
| 1. | Tom Rankin | 25 (6x0) |
| 2. | Owen Gawthorpe | 25 (4x0) |
| 3. | Steve Rogers | 34 |
Expert
Ryan Crisp was back again after a long break from the national circuit. He took the win in Expert class, finishing on 23 after a consistent and impressive lap that saw him complete every section on a clean or a one. James Davies (Onza) was in second on 46. A Relative newcomer to the cop circuit, James is getting very good, very quickly. His clean, efficient style seems well suited to the competition environment. Tony Martin completed the podium in third place on 67, just one point ahead of Chris Bland in fourth.
| Pos. | Name | Pts. |
| 1. | Ryan Crisp | 23 |
| 2. | James Davies | 46 |
| 3. | Tony Martin | 67 |
Cadet
Cadet class was particularly full, with several young riders moving up from the Intermediate class this year. Adam Morewood (Tarty Bikes/Onza) was riding very strongly indeed. He finished his first lap on 11, picking up a five on section seven. His second lap was much stronger as he improved his score on a few sections, finishing with a total of 17 points and in first place. Charlie Rolls (Koxx/Hope), who had been ill the week before at K-124 Days, was not on his usual form in Surrey. He still made short work of the majority of sections, his talent shining through. Laps of 12 and 17 saw him finish on 29 points in second place. Sam Rolls (MRS) finished in third on 35. He’s maturing a bit as a rider and was riding confidently and effectively all day.
| Pos. | Name | Pts. |
| 1. | Adam Morewood | 17 |
| 2. | Charlie Rolls | 29 |
| 3. | Sam Rolls | 35 |
Intermediate
The Crowthorne Club’s Toby Smith took the win in Intermediate class, finishing on 21 after a great second lap of just eight points. Reece Seymour finished on 58 points, shaving ten points of his first lap score on lap two, and Henry Kay completed the podium with 64 points on his card.
| Pos. | Name | Pts. |
| 1. | Toby Smith | 21 |
| 2. | Reece Seymour | 58 |
| 3. | Henry Kay | 64 |
Senior
Donna Fox (54 Sport) took the win in the Senior class, finishing on 58 points. Darryl Smith was just one point behind in second place, ahead of Neil Robinson on 63 points.
| Pos. | Name | Pts. |
| 1. | Donna Fox | 58 |
| 2. | Darryl Smith | 59 |
| 3. | Neil Robinson | 63 |
Novice
Andrew Eley finished in first place in the Novice class, finishing each lap on 15 for a total of 30 points. Sam Shepherd and Jack Biggins both finished on 33 points, with Sam taking second place on most cleans.
| Pos. | Name | Pts. |
| 1. | Andrew Eley | 30 |
| 2. | Same Shepherd | 33 (7x0) |
| 3. | Jack Biggins | 33 (6x0) |
Primary
Casey Moore finished on 26 points to finish first in Primary class, ahead of Samuel Meeton on 53.
| Pos. | Name | Pts. |
| 1. | Casey Moore | 26 |
| 2. | Samuel Meeton | 53 |
Full Results
The next round of the British Trials Cup is on Sunday 5th May at Bracken Rocks and entry forms are available now on the Biketrial Federation’s Events page. The dates for the rest of the series are as follows:
| Round | Venue | Date |
| 2 | Bracken Rocks | Sun 5th May (entry form available here) |
| 3 | Fort William | Sat 8th & Sun 9th June |
| 4 | Essex Trials and Jump Centre | Sat 13th and Sun 14th July |
| 5 | Newcastle (City Centre) | Sat 10th and Sun 11th August |
| 6 | Bob McGregor Trials Park | Sun 8th September |
| 7 | Shipley Glen | Sun 6th October |
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