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Congratulations
to the 181 riders who took part in this 2007 National Championship
- a massive WELL DONE to everyone. Everyone's riding showed amazing
skill, and it has been satisfying to see you all progressing throughout
the year. Your behaviour has been impeccable, and you are all
a credit to the sport - thank you - it's been a real pleasure
working with you all, and we're looking forward to 2008! With
a total of 441 entries to the series, it's been a spectacular
year for the sport. Check out the results from the events page.
A quck reminder
of events this year ... so many great venues ... so little time
to use them all!
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1 - April - The Bracken Rocks Cup |
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The
rocky woods of Derbyshire hosted the first round of
the BikeTrial Federation's National Championship.
The sun shone down on us, with observers suffering
from the ants that had woken up in the heat, and riders
grateful for water provided at control. It was perfect
weather for camping, but perhaps not for riding!
Even
so, riders from throughout England, Scotland, Wales
and the Channel Islands turned out in force with 73
entries throughout the full range of BIU classes.
The heat may have been a little to blame, but the
sections were hard with some pretty high scores to
be seen.
An
excellent event for the start of the 2007 series.
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| Round
2 - May - The Blackpool Tower Trophy |
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The
Lancashire seaside resort of Blackpool hosted this
amazing second round of the series with the highest
number of riders to be seen together at one time in
the UK. 104 entries turned up from all over the British
Isles. The venue was perfect for the hundreds of spectators
who stopped to watch as they walked along the promenade,
and provided a day's entertainment for a group of
elderly ladies who just couldn't believe what they
were watching!
Having
taken note of the high results from Bracken, the sections
were somewhat easier on the Blackpool day so everyone
just had a great time riding the moon rocks in the
glorious sunshine. To finish off a perfect day, the
beautiful Miss Blackpool had a kiss for those collecting
their trophies!
Roll
on the 2008 event at this venue!
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| Round
3 - June - The Brimham Trophy |
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Adjacent
to the famous Brimham Rocks, this Yorkshire venue
is a favourite for many riders and 64 turned up on
the day. A note for next year is to avoid exam time
so that more people can turn up!
Even
so, it was a really great day, with an excellent variety
of sections, some easy, some hard, that everyone enjoyed.
The
sections were left in at the end of the competition
ready to be used again for the TykeTrial competition
the following week when World Champion motorcycle
trials rider Dougie Lampkin was to present the awards.
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| Round
4 - July - The Fort Bill Cup |
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spectacular journey through the mountains to the Scottish
coastal town of Fort William and the famous Nevis Range
turned a trial into a family weekend away for many.
It was a long drive that unfortunately limited the number
of entries, but 37 riders made it up there, travelling
from all over the UK. |
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Unfortunately
it was (as usual at Fort Bill) a little damp, but
the riders spirits weren't, with sections including
a river-bed with large round boulders, woodland areas,
and man-made. Everyone had a great time with the journey
well-worth it.
Roll
on Scotland 2008.
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| Round
5 - August - The Addingham Cup |
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The
venue of the 2005 World BikeTrial Championship, and
the same organisers! Needless to say that some of
the sections were re-used in this Yorkshire event.
This was a real celebration for biketrial, as earlier
in the year, the council had closed the venue - we
fought the closure, and we won the right to continue
organising biketrial events!
Unfortunately,
another organisation had also arranged an event on
this day so numbers were lower than anticipated, but
even so an excellent trial took place with 74 riders,
again from throughout the UK.
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| Round
6 - November - The Shipley Glen Cup |
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An
unbelievable end to an amazing year! The perfect venue,
perfect weather (particularly for November!) and a
brilliant fun day with a fantastic atmosphere.
Shipley
Glen has traditionally been unavailable for cycling,
but a bit of persuasion by the Biketrial Federation
enabled us to secure this prime venue, with 89 riders
signing on for this final round having travelled from
all over England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel
Islands..
The
combination of woodland and rocks gave way to a really
good variety of sections and everyone had a great
time.
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To
summarise ... it couldn't have been better!
Representatives
of the Federation meet next week to plan the 2008 calendar, we
hope to secure new venues all over the country to help promote
the biketrial sport even further in the future.
Thank
you for taking part in the 2007 series, we hope to see you all
again in 2008.
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