tricky dicky

I can quite happily speak from experience that they are hard due to having no run up. I've done the past 2 years minding in the wtc so I have a good idea what I'm talking about. I don't think that if the limit on the btc was 85 instead of 55 would have made any difference with the stopping rules. Maybe it will increase the entries being more manageable. You have to remember that the bulk of the entry are non supported riders and it's hard earned cash paying for the privilege to ride. 6 or 8 riders on the top route isn't sustainable and neither would the wtc without the junior and youth classes. Will 6 trials limit the top lads in the wtc? I personally don't think so. The importers are the ones supporting our top riders and i'm sure they will dictate what the riders ride to an extent whether they like it or not. When Britain had riders pushing genuinely for wtc glory there was Doug, Colley, Jarvis all in the running to win rounds and the rules were..... a version of no stop! It's not the fault of the ACU for acting on a flagging championship, the FIM are the ones that should change in my opinion.

Good point but it wouldn't show the truth as a lot of people on here are "know it alls" that don't even ride! The problem with the world championship is that it's too hard and costs too much to get to. That is the whole problem! Why is it too hard? Because of the rules and everything has to have no run up! I've been to all the rounds apart from Japan this year and I can assure you this is the truth. British championship at

If they make the WTC no stop I'm sure it will be the best idea ever! Why are you against it so much? Is it that the hopping rule suits you because you can have 1 foot down and completely move the bike where you want to and it's only a 1? That is no skill in trials and I can assure you that is part of what makes trials farcical and why people are gunning for a change. You shouldn't be able to move the bike around with your feet down, it's ludacris and defeats the whole object of the job.

I think that is possibly the intention without adding another class

Just a thought but if the world champs went no stop wouldn't that suit our top lads better than the foreigners? After all we do run the two biggest no stop trials in the world!

What about when the front wheel is in the air and when it's locked solid going down a muddy rut?! Doesn't work unfortunately! Good, fair observing is the only way.

Is that David Leather in runner up position? He made a comeback about 10 years or so ago and was still fairly handy. Had a bit of a pornstar tache from what I remember!

Haha I wish I could predict them! I did predict this was coming though as I already knew!

The big point you are missing is that there was only one route when Dougie, Jarvis, Colley etc were in the top flight of the WTC. It was exactly the same when Raga and Bou have come through the ranks to where they are now at the top of the sport. You may also find Raga learnt his trade when the rules were stop for a 1 so you are missing the point. It's not the rules holding back the progression of the next top British rider, it's the fact they are stuck in the Junior/ youth classes until they are the age Tarres, Dougie and Toni won their first world championships.

Just seen an article on another website which I won't put a link on for. I'm sure it will soon be front page news though!

Top riders will still be top riders regardless of rules, I think we have established that. Who actually cares about world championship? There's only 10 of them that ride and it costs a fortune to do so is out of the reach of the vast majority. You clearly don't understand the idea behind all this is to make the sport less elitist not what just suits one rider. What are your views with the reversing with the "brilliant" hopping rule? It's a joke! Easier sections observed properly is key and we can return back to the sport which is trying to get through sections without dabbing and not who can hop round as quick as they can

They don't know if they are getting better if they get away with things. Same rules for everybody, the sections will soon change to accommodate it

I didn't say anything about ex riders, surely we're trying to encourage new riders to the sport? I think a few clubs claim to lay trials out in the no stop style so why not just observe it no stop aswel? A good example of why no stop is better for the masses is the Wallace cup which is not a million miles from you dabster. When it's no stop the sections are much better than when it's hopping rules, people haven't paid their hard earned money to sit in a queue and most people will go home happy. When these types of trials run hopping rules it's just a farce and I seem to remember you posting something similar yourself! Which rules do you want dabster? It would be interesting to hear!

Well said! The big reason no stop is being looked as is because it's more manageable which therefore increases rider participation which is what it's all about! I remember this mass-debate when the rules were changed before but it doesn't take long to learn how to ride no stop especially when you get fived for stopping a few times!

It's not all the old riders that want no stop at all. This is the point you miss. I for one think that there are too many trials running on the same days within a close proximity of eachother. That is a completely different argument though. When I started riding the rules were stop allowed and you could reverse feet up but were penalised for a stationary dab. I didn't think much of no stop until I tried it and practised it. Do you think Doug moaned about it as when stop for a 1 was introduced he had just won his first world championship? Did he buggery! He went out and learnt how to ride without stopping! People seem to think that technical sections aren't possible no stop which couldn't be further from the truth. Riders just need to give it a try and know that they will be fived for stopping, simple!

The basic idea is that trials has 2 scoring systems which is complicated for observers and the aim is to simplify things nationwide. Think you may find the BTC will be running no stop and maybe others will follow the trend. I can only relay what I've been told. If it helps the participant sport that it is grow then I'm all for it. I don't see why people are worried, why not just give it a try!

It will also be run under no stop rules!

We will see wont we! I don't honestly see the problem you have with no stop, maybe it's down to that your lad isn't as good at no stop. Who knows! I wonder if Bradford will follow the trend.

Just wait to see the outcome of a meeting in Rugby today! Think you may find stop permitted is soon non existent!

Yeah I'm fully aware of the riders you mention and I know them all very well. What I've never understood is how the Yorkshire centre championship is run under 2 sets of rules. Not saying its a bad thing at all but surely to compete you have to be able to ride no stop? I think you may find that all the importers are backing the return to no stop as it makes it more of a riders sport which it always has been. The modern technique is quite easily applied and if you watch Toni Bou at his best then he is always moving forward! How many riders would pack up if it went no stop? My guess is not more than a small handful, and how many may be inclined to buy a bike and have another go? Quite a few is my guess

I am guessing Mr Telecat is basically referring in his post that every other club in the Yorkshire Centre is crap apart from Yeadon Guiseley. That couldn't be further from the truth. Yorkshire is obviously a fairly prominent trials area but it's not as prominent with top riders as it used to be. Look at the fact that the Lampkins/ Hemingways, Dan Thorpe, Tony Scarlett, Phil Disney etc have been riding years and years and are still winning most centre trials and even nationals. We need the younger riders to learn how to ride proper trials as hopping and flicking about is false. I don't dispute for 1 minute that it's not skillful and I'm very competent at it myself but it's so boring! The trouble I see is if I'm blatantly honest is that no stop is a leveller and you know for a fact that many of the young hoppers will end up sliding down the results!

Well said! You have hit the nail on the head with why people are all for the no stop argument. I always thought that the southern centres would never contemplate no stop but they have and I applaud this bold decision. There is a video on the world championship chat forum of a certain Bernie Schreiber doing a stunning pivot turn. This is what no stop can offer and just look at the response from the crowd! When the stop for a 1 rule was introduced in 1998 everybody had to learn how to do it and it took time. To me riders just want everything instantly without having to work for it nowadays and instead of learning the flowing riding style they are allegedly prepared to pack in which is a sad state of affairs.

I was speaking obviously hypothetically about golf! The trouble is with how trials is at present is that there is only the SSDT and the Scott where an average club rider could say they rode the same course as the top riders. The BTC of old used to attract well over 100 riders all riding the same course whereas now its a maximum of 55 of us hopping into a rut as fast as we can and parking in a cow s**t field in the middle of nowhere! The ACU don't see this is a problem but with the price of fuel as it is it won't be sustainable for much longer as it costs on average around

I personally think if the BTC was no stop then it would get more entries but more to the point it would allow more entries. At present it's limited to 55 which is all due to the 90 seconds per section and after the stopwatch has been reset and card punched it is roughly an extra minute on top of that. I see the arguments both ways but for the majority no stop is beneficial and makes better riders. Trials is the only sport I know where it's impossible to complete the same course as the top men. In golf we could all attempt the masters course but most of us would know we would do a round in the hundreds but we could still attempt it. I know trials is a bit unique but we seem to have routes for everybody now which is another thing I don't completely agree with. Fair enough the hard, middle and easy routes but I've seen trials with 5 routes which is a bit unnecessary. The world championship is like the titanic, it's hit the iceberg and is sinking. They have a problem which doesn't allow any progression because the kids are stuck on 125's till they are 18 whereas when Raga and Bou etc came through the ranks they could ride 250's. This holds riders back and it's like learning again when they jump on a 300 from a 125. I think stuff what they do at the WTC and let's make it better for riders in the UK as it is a participant sport after all.