With the withdrawal / retirement of James Dabill and Jack Price from Trial GP I think that leaves only Dan Peace as a UK rider in the top level for 2021 and possibly on 10 riders overall.
You'd probably assume that 1 or more of Fuji (nearly 41 ?), Raga (38) and Fajardo (35) are nearing the end in the next few seasons as well.

Pretty bleak outlook for the sport at it's highest level, and don't see many Trial2 riders wanting to make the step up.

What are the issues / reasons? Cost - harder to get sponsorship and funding? governing body? Rules? Manufacturer support? All of these? 

Think Dibs was expected as he'd hinted at it a couple of years back, but Price was possibly a bit of a surprise to most. 
Do riders now attempt to crack the elite for a few years, earn some money then have to call it a day if they realise they will not crack the top 5

Is there even a 'fix' for Trial GP? IMO keep trying to stifle the development of the bikes and riders via the rules does not / has not helped

 

It must get truly demoralising, in the same way it is for me, watching the top lads ride stuff and clean that I can only dream of, for our "Top" UK riders to watch the same riders always beating them and all the plaudits go to the normal few.

i can understand why a few seasons and their done.

Dibs has done a fantastic job waving the union flag at TrialGP for so long, but with younger, more hungry riders from other countries getting the lions share of sponsorship, the older guard either have to stand aside, or be unceremoniously moved. Better to go with your head held high, which, in my opinion, he's doing.

the Spanish riders get a lot of support to bring them along and the sports governing body there gets and arranges financial support for their up and coming riders. Is this our fault, we don't do the same, and as a result we have good riders but not truly world class, quite yet!

Heres hoping for the future, enjoyment retirement from TrialGP Dibs!

Gentlemen, gentlemen, how very sexist.  I think you will find a UK rider is World Champion.  It's the men that can't cut it.  ?

1 hour ago, jonboy883 said:

 

the Spanish riders get a lot of support to bring them along and the sports governing body there gets and arranges financial support for their up and coming riders. Is this our fault, we don't do the same, and as a result we have good riders but not truly world class, quite yet!

How much is a competition licence in Spain ?

The Spanish RFME licence fee for 2020 is 330 Euros.

2 hours ago, jonboy883 said:

...the Spanish riders get a lot of support to bring them along and the sports governing body there gets and arranges financial support for their up and coming riders...

1 hour ago, b40rt said:

How much is a competition licence in Spain ?

11 minutes ago, peterb said:

The Spanish RFME licence fee for 2020 is 330 Euros.

and thus do we want to pay that?

if we (ACU) charge that, would everyone sod off and join someone else / set their own federation up

persoanlly the ACU is there for faciltating the sport - fighting governament regualtion, polictal lobbying, getting insurance, Health and saftey support, offcial's training, etc. In my (very humble) opinion "burning" money on helping some "pro" be a better "pro" is extravagent / a waste. on the other hand if that "pro" is really helping out at a grass routes level, say coaching/helping out newbies, plotting courses, etc then my "tollernace" for this support is higher.

particualry this year / next where covid has devatstated the sports finances, this question of priorities is going to be key

 

 

5 hours ago, nickday1 said:

Do riders now attempt to crack the elite for a few years, earn some money then have to call it a day if they realise they will not crack the top 5

 

I suspect it is quite the opposite, i.e. attempt to crack the elite for a few years, spend some money then have to call it a day when they realise they have no money or sponsors left.

5 hours ago, nickday1 said:

What are the issues / reasons? Cost - harder to get sponsorship and funding? governing body? Rules? Manufacturer support? All of these?

 

The question that interests me is why has there been so little challenge to the established top riders of Bou, Raga, Fajardo, Fujinami, Cabestany (before his retirement) for the best part of a decade. Busto is a top 3 rider, Casales maybe a top 5 rider, but that's about it. It seems to me that emerging riders are unable to develop to the same level as the previous generation, but I honestly have no idea why.

One school of thought is that young very good riders now ride 125s for too long. In Raga / Bous case they didn't,  they will have been on 300s at 16. 

 

9 minutes ago, baldilocks said:

One school of thought is that young very good riders now ride 125s for too long. In Raga / Bous case they didn't,  they will have been on 300s at 16. 

 

In my experience trials in the 70s, 80s and 90s (my era when Britain produced many world class riders) there were over 150 riders entered every weekend, full of families. Trials these days are full of solo's with the odd Father/mother and Son/daughter team.  There is no soul in the sport.

 Some Youth riders have support, but many talented  riders don't . We've been there!

If you want world class trials riders we must find ways of encouraging youths to continue with the sport and not venture into mx/enduro, football etc. 

We now compete in mx  where entries are full and competition is very hard, but you get a sense of a big family! I've not had that in trials for years!

You never know it might bring some money into the sport !!!

I'm pretty sure the Trials scene in the UK is  much bigger then Spain. I know we don't seem to produce as many "top" riders but that doesn't reflect how things are at grassroots. Up here Trials is massive compared with MX.

9 hours ago, neils on wheels said:

The question that interests me is why has there been so little challenge to the established top riders of Bou, Raga, Fajardo, Fujinami, Cabestany (before his retirement) for the best part of a decade. Busto is a top 3 rider, Casales maybe a top 5 rider, but that's about it. It seems to me that emerging riders are unable to develop to the same level as the previous generation, but I honestly have no idea why.

The change in rules from stop allowed to "no stop" meant riders like cabestany got a few more years. Certainly helped fuji carry on too.

3 hours ago, breagh said:

I'm pretty sure the Trials scene in the UK is  much bigger then Spain. I know we don't seem to produce as many "top" riders but that doesn't reflect how things are at grassroots. Up here Trials is massive compared with MX.

As someone new to the sport my own view is that perhaps the UK weather is not the best for producing the sort of riding that you see in the competitions.  I went to watch X-Trial in Rennes last year and it was very entertaining and well worth the trip, but not relevant to the sort of muddy riding I do.  Our club is busy and our meetings are well attended.  Everyone has a great time and it is genuinely the most friendly and pleasurable thing I have found to do since we moved here.  It is not likely to produce any champions though.  We have one young lad who is really good but probably a bit too old to set the world on fire.  Everyone encourages him but he is late teens and so unlikely to be next world champ.  He seems to me to have lots of fun and that is what is important.

If you were in Spain with endless hot summers and sunshine and started when you were 3, like Tony, then you might get to be really really good.  Nowt wrong with that.  Nowt wrong with just having a good time.  Today it is raining and cold, we are locked down and cannot ride.  I don't have a private estate (like Tony) to practice in.  I am missing my fun.  Missing my friends at the club.  Missing watch my wife fall off but have a good time nevertheless.

We are very lucky to have such a good grassroots trials scene in the UK.  It encourages lots of us to get out there and ride, but the friendly nature is not going to produce a massively competitive group of top riders all aching to be the next Bou.  And - to be fair - I like it that way.

19 hours ago, nickday1 said:

IMO keep trying to stifle the development of the bikes and riders via the rules does not / has not helped

 

Agree with all that you say, but i disagree here. This was an attempt to try and narrow the gap between the top and bottom riders, thus trying to encourage more riders to move up from trial2. I don't think they went far enough!! If it stays the way it is, it will just be bou raga and busto, everyone else will be either taking 5s or move down. Trials is too extreme.

At the other end of the spectrum look at the SSDT. Dougie and a few other good british riders can compete with or even beat James, whereas at GP, Dougie and those other riders wouldn't even want to ride it. This is an extreme of course, and i wouldn't want to see TrialGP resort to this, but there has to be some middle ground. If trials keeps catering to Bou, all the other riders and the sport as a whole, suffers. Yes, its great seeing Bou clean a section that no one else can, but where's the competition here?

Edited November 25, 20205 yr by faussy

 Its the PRO end of trials thats the problem  with the lack of funds ! well if the funds arn,t then redundancy comes thats life ! ,Trials will never get the numbers of  spectators to fund the PRO rider   and that rider  has turned the sport into a circus with sections getting out of hand but wanting it harder ?  you got what you wanted hard sections but a  lack of riders = lack of funds  =redundancy !!!  i find it very strange some people really think the  lesser riders / governing body  should pay for the PRO riders way of life , Would top level trials be in such a mess if these top riders had a 8-5 job to fund there sport ?  thus not spending all day training, getting so good they need the circus style sections SO when pro /top rider leaves i wont be shedding a tear for them, How much have these riders put back into the sport, trials schools YES but charge for the privilege !!!!!!!!!