20th Augest
This weekend I was In Antwerp for round 3 of the UCI Trials World cup. Due to the UCI series not being my main focus this year and partly because of the cost of it, this was the 2nd and probably the last round I will do of the 5 round series.
This worked quite well for me as there was no reason for me to think about 'the big picture' I could just go there and ride my bike.
The whole event was great, run over 3 days with huge support from companies such as Volvo and Red Bull and the city of Antwerp. We were next to the main part of the City and combining this with Sunny 30+ weather we attracted large, supportive crowds.
I was riding well throughout the day, having some really good rides on difficult sections. I made too many odd mistakes during the competition on the easier sections and also had some observer decisions made against me which I didn’t feel were right, which made my overall score and result pretty poor, however as I said this result 'didn’t matter' so much and I do think this was the best I have ridden all year and has given me good motivation as I enter the final part of the season
I have uploaded a gallery of pictures from the competiton ( thanks mum :p) have a look and see what the Antwerp world cup was like.
I have also just added a gallery from my week In the Czech republic at Dressler camp. These are some great professional pictures from my friend and hero of the trials community Lukas Burianek. I hope you enjoy them, you get a great sense of what the event was like and how fun it was.
This worked quite well for me as there was no reason for me to think about 'the big picture' I could just go there and ride my bike.
The whole event was great, run over 3 days with huge support from companies such as Volvo and Red Bull and the city of Antwerp. We were next to the main part of the City and combining this with Sunny 30+ weather we attracted large, supportive crowds.
I was riding well throughout the day, having some really good rides on difficult sections. I made too many odd mistakes during the competition on the easier sections and also had some observer decisions made against me which I didn’t feel were right, which made my overall score and result pretty poor, however as I said this result 'didn’t matter' so much and I do think this was the best I have ridden all year and has given me good motivation as I enter the final part of the season
I have uploaded a gallery of pictures from the competiton ( thanks mum :p) have a look and see what the Antwerp world cup was like.
I have also just added a gallery from my week In the Czech republic at Dressler camp. These are some great professional pictures from my friend and hero of the trials community Lukas Burianek. I hope you enjoy them, you get a great sense of what the event was like and how fun it was.
10th Augest - The world championship report
For the past 3 weeks I have been travelling around Europe for this years Biketrial World championship.
This year the events were help In Saix, France- Igualada, Spain and Sonico, Italy. All 3 events were great, these were probably the biggest world championships In terms of sponsorship and spectator turn out. There were thousands of people at each competition.
Results wise I did not end the championship as well as I had wanted. I was aiming for top 10 at all rounds, which was easily do able and I was riding well enough to achieve this In all 3 rounds however It just didn't happen for me. I finished 10th,12th and 12th giving me 11th in the Overall standings something that I am disappointed with. The 2nd and 3rd rounds did not suite me and my bike at all, I am 1 of only 2 riders in the Elite class competing on a 26” bike, the sections all heavily lean towards suiting the 20” bike (In my eyes that is)
- This is just me making excuses though, If I had rode better I would have done better!
The results may have been disappointing, but the 3 week trip was an amazing experience. As I am an Elite rider (you must be specially selected for this class) the focus of all the comps were on us and with the events being so hugely attended that was a lot of attention.
There was Newspaper, Magazine and TV coverage at all events. The event in Spain was by far the biggest. We took over the town and during the opening ceremony I have never seen so many people fit into 1 town square, a sea of excitable Spaniards! As well as TV coverage after the event, the images were shown live and during the awards ceremony in the evening on Big screens TV – I got quite a lot of airtime which was great.
https://vimeo.com/46704182
This Is footage from Spanish TV of the event In Spain, I hope you like watching it, gives a good view of what the event was like. As you can see it was a pretty special!
During the championships the governing body of our sport ( The Biketrial International Union - BIU) had a revamp and created a new committee. In Italy I was told I had been selected to become the first ever rider representative for the Biketrial International Union! It was a very big shock, especially as before hand I had no idea it was happening. But I am very honoured to have been selected and that I was the rider they thought would be best for the job.
Please have a look at the gallery's below for some great pictures from the trip. Thank you to Robin Morewood,Kellie and Sam Rolls, Nadine Kamark and K124 for providing them.
This year the events were help In Saix, France- Igualada, Spain and Sonico, Italy. All 3 events were great, these were probably the biggest world championships In terms of sponsorship and spectator turn out. There were thousands of people at each competition.
Results wise I did not end the championship as well as I had wanted. I was aiming for top 10 at all rounds, which was easily do able and I was riding well enough to achieve this In all 3 rounds however It just didn't happen for me. I finished 10th,12th and 12th giving me 11th in the Overall standings something that I am disappointed with. The 2nd and 3rd rounds did not suite me and my bike at all, I am 1 of only 2 riders in the Elite class competing on a 26” bike, the sections all heavily lean towards suiting the 20” bike (In my eyes that is)
- This is just me making excuses though, If I had rode better I would have done better!
The results may have been disappointing, but the 3 week trip was an amazing experience. As I am an Elite rider (you must be specially selected for this class) the focus of all the comps were on us and with the events being so hugely attended that was a lot of attention.
There was Newspaper, Magazine and TV coverage at all events. The event in Spain was by far the biggest. We took over the town and during the opening ceremony I have never seen so many people fit into 1 town square, a sea of excitable Spaniards! As well as TV coverage after the event, the images were shown live and during the awards ceremony in the evening on Big screens TV – I got quite a lot of airtime which was great.
https://vimeo.com/46704182
This Is footage from Spanish TV of the event In Spain, I hope you like watching it, gives a good view of what the event was like. As you can see it was a pretty special!
During the championships the governing body of our sport ( The Biketrial International Union - BIU) had a revamp and created a new committee. In Italy I was told I had been selected to become the first ever rider representative for the Biketrial International Union! It was a very big shock, especially as before hand I had no idea it was happening. But I am very honoured to have been selected and that I was the rider they thought would be best for the job.
Please have a look at the gallery's below for some great pictures from the trip. Thank you to Robin Morewood,Kellie and Sam Rolls, Nadine Kamark and K124 for providing them.
World Championship Round 1 - France
World Championship Round 2 - Spain
World Championship Round 3 - Italy
Training at K-124 Land - France
