Week 159 - Did They Get It Wrong?

[gizza5]

Some Piccies

BTC Round 1

[micm]

Thieving route markers is a pretty old pastime too. Most motor sport events get some stick and have done going back years. Not to mention fox hunting or up your way running hounds (dogs?) over the fells. It might be just one idiot or spoilsport.

When we run a long established event in one of our local protected woodlands, I always explain trials to the passers by as 'golf on a motor bike' - the walkers seem to like that!

I agree with Mike, and my friends who attended the Scarborough event. It looked too hard in the circumstances. Too many sections became in effect inconclusive. However I would have liked to see what Toni Bou would have done with it! All that mud.

Thanks for the picture link - they were a good set.

[sectiononecleaner]

nice pics gizza what settings you use?

[toeneybow]

over 2300 views, only 20 replies! says to me people are interested in what went on, but weren't really shocked, and couldn't ultimately give a hoot about a series so out of touch with reality. No real strong comments to say they got it right, a few to show concern about what happened, but again not too strong. there lies the problem.... no one cares less anymore, they really have killed the btc, not this event in truth, it was already dead!! but these happenings just push people even further away from it. a select circus, with a few riders, bulked out with classes, so people can just say to family friends and maybe sponsors, that they ride in the British Championships......

unrealistic trials are set, that test the rules and the observers nerve to give marks, this trial turned out so hard that i cant see where an excuse can come from, oh wait a minute, lets blame the weather.... that always works, well maybe at a clubby trial? but this is a btc, do we not expect better, better planning, better fore thought, and at least a plan b, i'm not sure how many courses there are, but i presume at least 3, 2 at worst, if they all rode the easiest course i presume it would of been a test still or a mix between all courses.

we or should i say the so called top of the sport live in a dream world of jonny being the next world champion, where a rock step to the moon wouldnt be big enough... do we really think this produces the next world champ... i dont think so, world champs are special in so many ways, and they become world champ thru natural skill, that is honed in practice and competition, although this isnt dead acurate, basically the practice improves the riding, and they practice all kinds of things, many you wouldnt see in a competition for many reasons, competition hones the riding under pressure, more the mental side, and obviously if it all works, then that brings the results too. making trials almost impossible acheives very little though, how many just switched off, or just gave in to a five a lot earlier and easier than they normally would of, how many just tried to rive to the end cards to possibly get a three, with no finess and no skill as such..... how many approached and rode the sections in a manner that they normally would of? few if any i bet....

this trial was a disaster and dont fool yourself to think any different, ask all the riders what new things they learnt that will benefit them in the next round?? this trial was a result of people thinking they know what they are doing, when in reallity they are dreaming. this trial came on the back a very similar schoolboy round...... time to go back to the drawing board, think what were doing and where were trying to go? if this was so right, then i expect all rounds to be of a similar result with near maximums from all but a few, see how many riders keep entering then.... i once cleaned a trial! and the simplest of sections became mountains, under the pressure of staying clean.... now i dont say btc should have someone clean, but it does teach concentration and mental strength!! im sure dibbs didnt have to show too much of that at this event.....

so easy to criticise things, and being someone who has worked a lot for motorbiking in all areas from riding helping and organising, i dont just criticise for the sake of it, far from it, but i have passion, a will to win and a will for our lads to be the next world champ, but i do really think were kidding ourselves if we think this is the way!! we must learn that this was wrong, totally wrong and strive for this not to happen again, i'm sure the spectators loved it, as although they didnt get the chance to applaud cleans too often, the other side of human nature is to take joy in others suffering!! so much enjoyment had i would think.... but dont take that false enjoyment as a platform to think you did ok.

i have been to this venue once before and it strikes me as not a very natural place as things have been carved out a lot and apart from gradiant, there is very little natural unless i havent seen it all, but i didnt see running becks, natural rocksteps only soil and gradiant and man made sections, great when you have a summer round, but no plan b section wise maybe when its like it was. Should they have just stuck more sections in or altered once it was seen what was happening, i know not easy, with public there, and health and safety and probably risk assessments etc but then that is why places like this shouldnt be used in winter maybe! all easy to say and is only one round, but you have to think this wasnt round one of a clubby trial and more is expected at this level.

bottom line is, the more we try to go to the limit of ability, the more chance this will happen, what was the mindset behind the trial, what did the c of the c expect or want marks wise to be dropped from the winner in each class, cause im sure it wasnt this, but how hard did he want it, was it too hard even for a good day(prob unanswerable) but acu i think should set a guide, acu should expect a explanation and i feel a public explanation should be given, to try and understand what happened, i dont want to shoot the c of the c, far from it, just like to know his thoughts, was any plan b impossible? fair enough if it wasnt.

i'm just gob smacked that this happens and nothing is really said...... from anywhere.... c of the c, club, riders, acu, sponsors..... was it bad luck or bad or over optimistic planning?

a bit of a ramble i agree, but just trying to put many points forward, and to also ask what others think, is this the way forward, is this a one off, is this what we need for the next world champ, i'm a great beleiver that world champs are born and become world champ whatever, they have the skill and mental strength and adapt as needed, this would never be accepted as a world round, so how can it ever hone someone to be world champ, the top riders would of downed tools at this event for sure, i did see someone ask how toni bou would of done, well i dont think he would of beat dibbs, he would of had the bike back in the camper along with all the others and been on his way home.....

[pete_scorpa3]

A passionate respone that's for certain toneybow.

Are you writing from the perspective of a rider or a sponsor? Or perhaps a spectator? Or an interested other?

I agree that we have heard little from those who were there, perhaps a riders point of view might shed some light on the event.

Anyone?

[as iow]

It would be interesting to here the Scarbrough clubs offical point of view, and also to read the ACU stewards report on this trial. My son did ride in this trial but his minder decided to pull him out after first lap to save him & his bike for another day. The Scarbrough club is well respected in the trials world and know what they are doing, but as Andy said earlier (something went wrong), i think we would all like to know what please.

[nigel dabster]

It would be interesting to here the Scarbrough clubs offical point of view, and also to read the ACU stewards report on this trial. My son did ride in this trial but his minder decided to pull him out after first lap to save him & his bike for another day. The Scarbrough club is well respected in the trials world and know what they are doing, but as Andy said earlier (something went wrong), i think we would all like to know what please.

Weather.

The frost and previous conditions and near freezing tempratures all day.

No plan B?

Note that Barry Robinson said in TMX that they were lucky to run? Bizarre comments as there was nothing to stop them and I'm sure no one ever considered not running for a fraction.

[baldilocks]

We all may have our views but I think the champioship riders wanted it to be harder this year, how dont know how hard they meant ?

Although I may not have enjoyed an event that hard thats totally irrelevent as I'm not riding.

If Dibs and co enjoy it good for them , its their championship, we are just the onlookers really

One of the great things about trials in the UK is that there is a trial for everyone.

So I think we should comment if we wish but we should only attempt to influence the events that we actually ride in rather than the events we have no intention of riding.

[toeneybow]

my comments were made to ask if this kind of btc is what is needed for our next world champ? the temperatures have been low for a long period and were forecast to be very low that weekend, so is frost a reasonable excuse? what did they expect, dust..... to comment that the top riders want it harder is not a way to operate, if the lesser lights said they want it easier, would they be made easier???? what we need is thought and a plan, and yes a plan b if its not happening, there is im told two courses and it runs very like a green route trial where the middle course runs a mixture of sections, surely the sections could of been eased from section one onwards and the changes implemented as the trial progressed with an initial time out of say half an hour, would anyone of really disagreed to a small delay, resulting in a better event.

one more point, i spoke to a rider who was on the podium today and had a little banter with him about the event, i then asked him what he learnt from the trial, his answer... "i learnt how to push" were his exact words! i wonder with that new learnt talent whether he will be able to improve his result at his next big trial be it btc, wtc or national!!!!

if one thing should be learnt by organisers, it should be that if you take trials at whatever level, to the highest level of posability/imposability!! it will have a far higher chance of biting you in the ass! than it will of working and being sucessful.

i always feel a section if its set as a hard one in a trial is a success with only one clean, but realistically its a success too with a few cleans still, if the best done is a one say or two, its still not a disaster, but if a section takes five from all, where was the gain? all might as well of cleaned it because it gave no differentiation to the result. sometimes that is bad luck, and you get one in a trial, but this trial was full of them, is that still bad luck, should btc be decided on luck?

one thing for sure this trial will never be forgotten by the riders..... well done to all who finished, i just dont think it was right and i hope lessons are learnt, and the acu asks some searching questions to why we had a trial like this, at this level, and also that it tries to stop this happening again, and before anyone says these things happen, surely they got the round on their experience so things like this cant happen, this wasnt a novice set up, setting up a top level trial for the first time....... this is land they have had and used for years remember!

its easy to bash, i can assure you that isnt my way or my point, i just feel there is better ways to our next world champ....

[slapshot 3]

Some interesting comments and I'm bound to get slagged off for this post but what the hell!!

It's always easy to blame the weather because it's apparently the one thing that's completely out of the organisers control. Not so; every organiser of every major event can contact weather forecast providers direct (there are a number of providers out there not just the mob I work for) then use that with their knowledge of the terrain they are using to decide how tough they can make a trial without it being stupid, additionally if the conditions are going to be stupid to the point that they perhaps endanger riders and officials it gives them a chance to call it off early saving people the effort of travelling long distances for nothing.

A good example of this occured a couple of years ago, round 1 of the Scottish Champs, we'd laid it out on the Saturday when the burns were high but rideable however I knew that the conditions in the Sunday would be borderline, gale force winds and freezing temperatures coupled with heavy snow showers do not make for a great day out but when you put observers out on the hill to stand around all day in wind chill figures as low as -20

[mickwren]

They say that top sportsmen don't become rubbish overnight and its the same of the Scarborough Club. They are an excellent club and Pat is a top CofC, everyone is just too eager to condemn people on one event. Many times recently we have heard cries from people wanting to return to "The good old days" well don't forget scores like these were commonplace then, the only difference being that there were probably 50 sections and the last man would lose 250 marks. I'm not saying this makes it right but without multi classes ( which seem to get slagged off at British and World level but are thought of as excellent at National or Club Trials) then you would all have to suffer higher marks coz these classes make it possible for riders of lesser ability to ride in events that they shouldn't really be in.