The opening round of the British Trials Cup took place on Sunday 6th April at Hook Woods in Surrey. Following a decision made at the Biketrial Federation’s annual meeting to raise the level across all categories to better suit the status of a national series, the sections were very challenging and quite long, meaning the 45 riders in attendance were in for a tough start to the season. Rain during the night and some of the morning added to the difficulty on the day and made for some very high scores across the board (although there were some low ones as well!).
In the Elite class, all of the riders had a tough time contending with the conditions and the harder sections and everybody came in on double figures after the first lap. Steve Rogers (M.A.D.) was on maximum points, often managing some of the bigger moves but then falling foul of the slippery ground elsewhere. Scott Wilson (54 Sport) had fared slightly better, managing to rack up one clean on lap one to come in on 35. The battle for the top spot seemed to be between Sam Oliver (Rockman) and Jack Carthy (Crewkerz); each was making short work of most of the big moves, but the wet and slippy conditions meant that both came up short on some move or slipped and had to put a foot down on some of the more technical passages. Jack picked up three fives and two ones to come in on 17, while Sam was on five fives and two twos for 24. It wasn’t a huge gap though, and with the unpredictable conditions and long sections, just a couple of slips could spell the difference between first and second. Lap 2 saw Steve come in on 39 for a total of 79 points and 4th place. Scott had improved on his first-lap score, converting two of those fives into a two and a one, giving him a second-lap score of 27 and a total of 62, which saw him take the bronze medal. Sam had had a good second lap that saw him come in one point above Carthy’s first-lap score on 18 (three fives, three ones and two cleans). Would that be enough to put him on the top step of the podium? Sadly not, as Jack, obviously relishing the challenge of the difficult sections and conditions and someone snapping at his heels, had had a blistering second lap, finding traction where there was seemingly none, keeping his balance where he had slipped before and making event the biggest moves with relative ease. He dropped a single point each on sections one and two (the difficult riverbed sections) and then went on to clean the rest of the trial for a total score of 19 and a well-deserved gold medal.
It was Aaron Duke that took the win in Expert with a first lap of 30 (six fives and two cleans) and a second of 21 (two fives, three threes a two and two cleans) for a total of 51. Dan Wheeler, who had matched Aaron’s score of 30 on lap one, fell just short on lap two, coming in three points behind on 24 to take second place. Ryan Crisp and James Bancroft were slugging it out in the mud for third place, with Ryan coming in one point ahead on lap one with 33 dabs. The second lap was just as tight, with both riders picking up dabs and fives here and there and both cleaning section five. In the end, James finished one point ahead on lap two, tying them on 61. Ryan came out on top though, having managed to get through most sections on one dab (they were tied on cleans).
Cadet class saw Charlie Rolls (Hope/Jitsie) come in on 27 on his first lap and 18 on his second to finish in first place after some great riding and some creative solutions to the problems posed by some of the big moves and his small stature. Second and third went to brothers Olly and Alex Lawer, who finished on 54 and 61 respectively.
In the Intermediate class it was Adam Morewood (Onza/Tarty Bikes/Jitsie), on 25 (lap one 13, lap two 12), that took the win, ahead of Toby Smith (Trials Addict) on 39 and Sam Rolls on 42.
The riders in the Senior category all had a tough day, but a lot of fun from the sound of the laughter and shouting that seemed to follow them around the woods. Paul Hayward finished in first place on 70 points, ahead of Darryl Smith on 74 and Neil Robinson on 79.
In Novice class the Over 15s category was won by Elliot Tickner on 41, with Allan Brenkley in second on 64 and George Rogers in third on 80.
Sam Shepherd (Langsett Cycles/Tarty Bikes) finished first in the Under 15s, coming in on ’just’ 30 points, ahead of Jamie Smith (64) and Joe Lethbridge (67) in second and third.
Josh McParland finished on just 9 points (with a second lap of just two dabs) to take the Primary win, ahead of Samuel Meeton in second on 25 and Casey Moor in third on 30.
In MTB class, Perry Meeton took the win on 13, with Luke Henderson finishing on 50 in second place.
All in all it was a difficult but enjoyable start to the season, setting the riders up for a challenging year that should see them well prepared for the international competitions in 2014. The second round of the British Trials Cup will take place on Sunday 4th May in Blackpool. Tarty Bikes will be in attendance, running a give-it-a-go area for the public to try out some of the techniques on display, Miss Blackpool will be presenting the awards and the winner of the MTB route will have the chance to win a brand new Onza Tyke bike (see the Biketrial Federation website, www.biketrialuk.co.uk, for more information). Entry forms are available from www.biketrialuk.co.uk/Events.htm, as it further information on the event.
Words by Ben Swales / Photos by Ben Swales and Gary Attwood
Voici les premières dates des compétitions de Trial régionales de la nouvelle saison dans la partie est de l’hexagone. Le Trophée (...)
Le Montauban Trial Club a le plaisir de vous annoncer la "SESSION II" de sa Compétition Nocturne. En effet, pour ses 10 années d’existence, (...)
Le club du Vélo Vert Savignolais organisera la 6ème manche de la Coupe Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2017 de Trial ce dimanche 17 septembre ! Une (...)
L’équipe de bénévoles du Vélo Club Sportif de Betton s’est mise en marche pour tracer le trial de Betton et vous attend de pied (...)
Voici le programme complet de la 4ème étape de la Coupe du Monde UCI Trial 2017, qui investit pour la troisième année consécutive Albertville et (...)
Le club de Vélo Trial Petit-Coeur La Léchère organisera la 5ème manche de la Coupe Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2017 de Trial ce dimanche 25 juin ! Une (...)
La finale de l’édition 2017 de la Coupe FFC Grand Sud de Trial se déroulera le 25 Juin dans la petite ville de Saint-Sulpice-sur-Lèze en (...)
La finale du Championnat Centre / Ile-de-France Ufolep 2017 de Bike Trial se dispute ce dimanche 11 juin à Larchant. Retrouvez les infos sur ce (...)
