31st July 2013 - Back from the World Championships
I have just returned from the 2013 World Biketrial Championship. This was my 15th year of competing at the world championships!
It was a mixed campaign for me. In the opening round In Spain I had a great ride, I felt good and rode well. The event was huge, held around the city Centre of Igualada, near Barcelona during the afternoon and early evening. The sections were all man made and incorporated some monuments of the city.
The sections did look good and attracted a lot of attention but were also very contraversial with the riders in places ( Floating wooden blocks and a 14 foot drop were amongst the main things).
the event attracted an amazing amount of spectators (over the weekend a good few thousand people watched) I didn't have a great result here last year so wanted to get my revenge on it! I finished in 11th place, beating a lot of good riders and being praised for my rides. It was a good day and I was really happy with my ride.After the event we traveled through Spain, France, Switzerland and Germany having a bit of a holiday and also training along the way.
The 2nd round in the Czech Republic was different to Spain. This competition was held in the forests and was very technical which suited the smaller 20” wheeled bikes ( I was only 1 of 2 riders in Elite riding a 26” wheeled bike) so I was at a bit of a disadvantage. The evening before the event I had to attend a General Assembly meeting for the Biketrial International union as I am the rider representative, It was interesting to part of the meeting and discuss new proposels and ideas for the upcoming seasons to help Biketrial. But with the politics came some problems! - Not only did I end up missing my dinner because of it but I didn't get back to camp will 11.30pm – and that was me getting away early! When I did get back to camp, the restaurant/bar next to use was having some sort of party which didn't finish will 3am, I was up at 8am for a 10am start. It was not an ideal way to start the day haha. I was also the first rider to start In Elite which meant I was unable to see what anyone else was doing and unable to learn from their mistakes, but they could from mine. I’m not sure how much difference this made in the end really, I rode well but was not 100% on it that day, on my second lap i was feeling very tired, probably somewhat from the lack of sleep but mostly down to the 38 degree heat - but I think everyone else was struggling too!
I ended the day with another 11th place but not one I was very happy with. I ended up 12th In the overall championship, tied for 11th and only 1 point away from 10th.
10th (or higher) was my goal for the year so I am a bit disappointed not not achieve it. Especially as I was actually riding near my very best for the 2 weeks.
Overall though I am happy with how everything on the riding side went and really enjoyed the 2 weeks - back to normality now!
At both rounds I was also Minder for Sam Rolls who was riding in the Minime class. Sam has been out of international comp's for a little while and had some great rides this year at both rounds. He finished 18th In round 1 an then 9th I round 2 which gave him 12th overall, well done Sam! -Hope I didn't hold you back too much!
Massive thank you the Morewood Family - Robin, Gill and Adam - for all of their help (driver,chef,minder,on the road parents!) the Roll's for making it a fun 2 weeks and to everyone else around for making it such a great trip. An Extra big thank you Robin for being a top minder In such Hot (35+! ) and tricky conditions (after minding for his son Adam- world No.3 Benjamin on the day's before!)
I have added pictures to the gallery below, this will be continued to be updated over the next few days as I collect more!
It was a mixed campaign for me. In the opening round In Spain I had a great ride, I felt good and rode well. The event was huge, held around the city Centre of Igualada, near Barcelona during the afternoon and early evening. The sections were all man made and incorporated some monuments of the city.
The sections did look good and attracted a lot of attention but were also very contraversial with the riders in places ( Floating wooden blocks and a 14 foot drop were amongst the main things).
the event attracted an amazing amount of spectators (over the weekend a good few thousand people watched) I didn't have a great result here last year so wanted to get my revenge on it! I finished in 11th place, beating a lot of good riders and being praised for my rides. It was a good day and I was really happy with my ride.After the event we traveled through Spain, France, Switzerland and Germany having a bit of a holiday and also training along the way.
The 2nd round in the Czech Republic was different to Spain. This competition was held in the forests and was very technical which suited the smaller 20” wheeled bikes ( I was only 1 of 2 riders in Elite riding a 26” wheeled bike) so I was at a bit of a disadvantage. The evening before the event I had to attend a General Assembly meeting for the Biketrial International union as I am the rider representative, It was interesting to part of the meeting and discuss new proposels and ideas for the upcoming seasons to help Biketrial. But with the politics came some problems! - Not only did I end up missing my dinner because of it but I didn't get back to camp will 11.30pm – and that was me getting away early! When I did get back to camp, the restaurant/bar next to use was having some sort of party which didn't finish will 3am, I was up at 8am for a 10am start. It was not an ideal way to start the day haha. I was also the first rider to start In Elite which meant I was unable to see what anyone else was doing and unable to learn from their mistakes, but they could from mine. I’m not sure how much difference this made in the end really, I rode well but was not 100% on it that day, on my second lap i was feeling very tired, probably somewhat from the lack of sleep but mostly down to the 38 degree heat - but I think everyone else was struggling too!
I ended the day with another 11th place but not one I was very happy with. I ended up 12th In the overall championship, tied for 11th and only 1 point away from 10th.
10th (or higher) was my goal for the year so I am a bit disappointed not not achieve it. Especially as I was actually riding near my very best for the 2 weeks.
Overall though I am happy with how everything on the riding side went and really enjoyed the 2 weeks - back to normality now!
At both rounds I was also Minder for Sam Rolls who was riding in the Minime class. Sam has been out of international comp's for a little while and had some great rides this year at both rounds. He finished 18th In round 1 an then 9th I round 2 which gave him 12th overall, well done Sam! -Hope I didn't hold you back too much!
Massive thank you the Morewood Family - Robin, Gill and Adam - for all of their help (driver,chef,minder,on the road parents!) the Roll's for making it a fun 2 weeks and to everyone else around for making it such a great trip. An Extra big thank you Robin for being a top minder In such Hot (35+! ) and tricky conditions (after minding for his son Adam- world No.3 Benjamin on the day's before!)
I have added pictures to the gallery below, this will be continued to be updated over the next few days as I collect more!
15th July - Trial Park - Factory Pink - Eastbourne Extreme - The worlds!
It has been a busy 10 days!
Last weekend I was Invited to the Trials Park in Ipswich. It is primarily a Motorcycle trials venue where some great riders train including world championship rider, Jack Sheppard. I was invited along to watch the East Anglia Trophy Trial, a great event in it's 2nd running at the Trials park, which had some of the Uk's best riders in attendance including Alexz Wigg, James Fry and Emma Bristow. After the competition I had a little jam session and competition with Alexz and James, showing of pedal power! I was also there to discuss the possibility of organizing some biketrial events in the future - It looks promising! Thank you to the Trials Park and DKS Sports for the invitation.
This weekend I was at Eastbourne Extreme, a Brilliant festival help on Eastbourne seafront,with MAD. We had shows throughout Saturday and Sunday and they were perfect! Sunshine and large, enthusiastic crowds all day
Also this weekend I was sent some new riding shirts (and over goodies)that had been customized and pimped up by Factory Pink. The shirts look amazing and the rest of the products they sent over are really great quality. If you are looking for any printing or customization work, get onto Factory Pink! Massive thank you to Kurt for all of his help!
Last little bit of the update - I'm off to the world championships tomorrow! The first round is in Igualada, Spain, where a round was help last year ( a really nice event) and the second and final round is in Blansko, Czech Republic. It's crept up on me a bit this year, as usual I want to ride as well as possible and get a good result, however this year I'm not stressing out and just seeing what happens, staying positive and enjoying the experience, its the best way to be.........Top 10 would be nice though :)
Last weekend I was Invited to the Trials Park in Ipswich. It is primarily a Motorcycle trials venue where some great riders train including world championship rider, Jack Sheppard. I was invited along to watch the East Anglia Trophy Trial, a great event in it's 2nd running at the Trials park, which had some of the Uk's best riders in attendance including Alexz Wigg, James Fry and Emma Bristow. After the competition I had a little jam session and competition with Alexz and James, showing of pedal power! I was also there to discuss the possibility of organizing some biketrial events in the future - It looks promising! Thank you to the Trials Park and DKS Sports for the invitation.
This weekend I was at Eastbourne Extreme, a Brilliant festival help on Eastbourne seafront,with MAD. We had shows throughout Saturday and Sunday and they were perfect! Sunshine and large, enthusiastic crowds all day
Also this weekend I was sent some new riding shirts (and over goodies)that had been customized and pimped up by Factory Pink. The shirts look amazing and the rest of the products they sent over are really great quality. If you are looking for any printing or customization work, get onto Factory Pink! Massive thank you to Kurt for all of his help!
Last little bit of the update - I'm off to the world championships tomorrow! The first round is in Igualada, Spain, where a round was help last year ( a really nice event) and the second and final round is in Blansko, Czech Republic. It's crept up on me a bit this year, as usual I want to ride as well as possible and get a good result, however this year I'm not stressing out and just seeing what happens, staying positive and enjoying the experience, its the best way to be.........Top 10 would be nice though :)
