Trial

He came, he saw, he conquered. 28-year-old Kyle Middleton once again has re-written the history books by becoming the first rider to win six straight Australian Solo Championships, after he crushed his rivals at the 2018 Delecca’s Australian Trial Championship at Sedgwick in Victoria.

After scoring 14-points on Saturday, the New South Welshman went on to score 25-points on Sunday, which saw him finishing on top of the points tally with just 39-points to his name.

While Middleton performed so well against the competition, he didn’t feel as good yesterday, as he did on Saturday. This was simply because Middleton felt a bit ‘off’, as he was tired from the opening day of action.

“The body simply didn’t feel right today,” said Middleton at the conclusion of Sunday’s race.

Middleton’s second lap saw him digging deep, which went to plan for him. However, he started to have a couple of bad sections, which damaged his overall score a bit. Otherwise, it wasn’t too bad for Middleton, who entered the weekend with a bit of self-doubt.

The reason behind Middleton’s self-doubt was because after he came back from this year’s Scottish Six Day Trial in May, he returned back to Australia with a lot of injuries.

Since then, Middleton has really struggled with his body. There have been points this year where he honestly has thought to himself that he didn’t know if he would have even been able to do the Australian Trial Championship, as he didn’t train much this year.

“I guess all the stress was for nothing, because I rode fairly well this weekend,” expressed Middleton, who rates his sixth championship as his best, purely because it has been the hardest to win.

“I came into this weekend with a bit of self-doubt, however, once I got halfway through the first lap on Saturday I understood that I was riding quite well. To be able to win this year’s championship is a great feeling, but most of all it’s a massive relief,” added Middleton.

Middleton has declared that he will be back in 2019 to try and defend his championship, and hopefully make it a seventh straight title.

“As next year’s championship will be held in Tasmania, for sure Chris [Bayles] will be a tough person to beat, we will be riding in his ‘own back yard’. Hopefully in the off-season I’ll take a bit of time off and try and get my body right. If we do that, we should be more than fine,” concluded Middleton.

66-points off Middleton in second place was young gun, Connor Hogan, who continues to impress and has proven that he is a future star of the sport.
It was a bit of an up-and-down weekend for the 18-year-old, who hails from Bangor, in South Australia.

Hogan enjoyed some good laps and some laps which weren’t quite good. However, all in all he was pretty happy with how the weekend went.

“I managed to pull it together in the end, so I’m happy to walk away with second overall,” said Hogan, who scored 57-points on Saturday and 48 on Sunday.

When asked what he thought about the sections, Hogan replied with; “I found the courses fairly difficult and testing. Some sections were very much like what I rode while in Europe, but most weren’t. They were what you expected to be like at a place like Sedgwick. The sections were a lot of fun to ride.”

Overall however, Hogan walked away from the Australian Trail Championship more than content, as he didn’t have much expectations. Hogan, who finished fifth overall in last year’s Solo Championship just wanted to improve from last year, which he certainly did.

The next challenge for Hogan is to try and win the championship, which he is not getting to ahead of himself, just yet.

“It would be nice to be able to battle for the championship next year. In saying that, Kyle is an amazing rider, so it will be hard to knock him off his perch anytime soon. To be able to beat Kyle and take the championship would be ideal. I’ll keep working and hopefully one day it might happen,” finished Hogan.

Just three points off Hogan was the 38-year-old, Colin Zarczynski.
Zarczynski certainly had a better day on Sunday, than what he had on Saturday.
On Saturday, Zarczynski suffered massive cramping’s in his hand, to the point where he couldn’t even open his own hand.

“I spent a lot time trying to fix my hand overnight,” explained Zarczynski.
“My hands did come a lot better than Saturday afternoon. Today, I looked after myself a lot better in terms of nutrition wise. In saying that, that issue did throw an extra spanner into the works.”

Zarczynski openly admitted that he felt as if he could have done a little bit better throughout both days.

“I know even the winners probably say the same thing as well. But, I’m just disappointed in myself a little bit. Maybe the preparation wasn’t as good as it could have been. Overall, I’m still walking away. All the issues over the weekend, they were just rider issues. There wasn’t anything else. It was all me,” finished Zarczynski.

Tasmania’s Chris Bayles finished fourth overall with 131-points in the bank.
Bayles, who was more than happy with his riding over the course of the weekend, unfortunately had a couple of unlucky situations throughout both days. Bayles’ chain came off twice in the first section and on the same rock.

“It’s a bit disappointing, but I’m really happy with how I rode this weekend,” said Bayles, who felt quite good aboard his Gas Gas 300 machine.

Rounding out the top five was South Africanis Bruce Le Riche, who was nine points behind Bayles.

Kristie McKinnon kept her fine form going into the second day of racing by racking up a total of just 6-points for the day, which saw finishing with a grand total of 14-points and her ninth Australian Championship in the Women’s category.
McKinnon expressed that the sections on Sunday were a little bit tougher than what they were on Saturday, which suited her even more.

“I really enjoyed the sections out there today, as there were some nice steps to play on. It was simply a magic day,” said McKinnon.

McKinnon clearly came into the weekend as the favourite to win the championship, which she has lived up to expectations. But, was she expecting to finish the weekend with a ninth Australian championship to her name?

“Anything can happen in Trials. In saying that, I definitely feel as if I spend more time on the bike than anyone else. I definitely feel like I have put the work in, so I was feeling pretty confident just with the fact that I know that I had done the hard work and put the time in.”

McKinnon explained that’s it’s pretty special to win an Australian Championship. However, she still rates her second championship, which she won in 2009, as her favourite championship as she won it at Pacific Park in New South Wales which is her home ground.

“This championship is not any less special. I have definitely had a whole lot of fun at Sedgwick this weekend. On top of that we have had solid group of girls all riding at a high level, which is always good,” finish McKinnon.

Michelle Coleman finished second on 73-points, while Lillie Yiatrou finished third on a count back with Nicole Casey, as Yiatrou got 14 cleans to Casey’s 13.
Completing the top five respectfully was Jenna Lupo with 159-points.

Taking out the Junior 12 – under 16 Championship was Tom Woodhouse, which marks his first ever national championship.

Woodhouse has a remarkable day on Saturday, by racking up 4, 6 and 3 points throughout his three runs, which handed him just 13-points for the day, while on Sundayit he scored 9, 3 and 10 points which saw him scoring a total of 22, giving him 35-points in all.

Woodhouse explained that Sunday’s sections were definitely tougher than Saturday, as there was a lot of big obstacles and tight turns.

“Overall, we had a pretty good day,” said Woodhouse on Sunday.
“It was just unfortunate that made silly mistakes on my first and third lap and didn’t use the points wisely. Thankfully, my second lap was very good, which enabled me to keep my score low.”

Woodhouse labelled his first ever national championship as the “best feeling ever!”
“To win the championship is such a great feeling, as it’s what I have been working towards for the whole year. So to get it done is simply unreal,” added Woodhouse, who will depart Australia in two weeks’ time and head to New Zealand to take part in the FIM Oceania Challenge.

Finishing in second and third was Alex Cowan and Maverick Ford.
The 2019 Australian Trial Championship heads to Mt Joy in Tasmania, which is scheduled for 12-13 October.

For a full detailed on the overall championship, head to trials.com.au

Images: Russell Colvin
Editorial: Rusell Colvin

Results:
Solo
1st Kyle MIDDLETON 39
2nd Connor HOGAN 105
3rd Colin ZARCZYNSKI 108
4th Chris BAYLES 131
5th Bruce LE RICHE 140

Women
1st Kristie MCKINNON 14
2nd Michelle COLEMAN 73
3rd Lillie YIATROU 129
4th Nicole CASEY 129
5th Jenna LUPO 159

Junior 12 – under 16
1st Tom WOODHOUSE 35
2nd Alex COWAN 46
3rd Maverick FORD 55
4th Haydon BARWICK 59
5th Rhys DUNDON 75

New South Welshman Kyle Middelton has today got off to the perfect start at the 2018 Delecca’s Australian Trial Championship at Sedgwick in Victoria, as he prepares to possibly take out a record sixth straight Open Solo Championship, which has never been done before in the sports history.

Middelton, who hails from Eleebana in Lake Macquarie, dismantled the eight rider filed, finishing the day with just fourteen marks to his name, 32 points clear from Colin Zarczynski, who scored 46 marks.

“I’m pretty happy with how the day went, as I felt really good on the Gas Gas 300 machine,” said Middelton at the conclusion of the day.

However, Middleton admitted that he make a couple mistakes here and there. Not only that, the sun and the heat took a bit of the 28-year-old throughout the day.

The mistakes for Middleton came in the fourteenth section, out of a total of fifteen, when he touched a marker on his second lap, handing him five marks against his name. Also on the second lap saw Middleton having to deal with cramps.

“Apart from touching a marker and having a cramp, there were just a few small things to contend with. If you only have a few things to complain about, you have done alright,” explained Middleton.

Middleton is more than confident heading into tomorrow’s final day of action. He understands that he has to just keep doing what he was doing today.
“Hopefully the results keep going the way they are going. If they do, I can’t see why we can’t replicate what we did today,” said Middleton.

When Middleton was asked what he could do to improve on for tomorrow, he explained that he maybe has to take his time a little bit more. Today saw Middleton being a tad too ‘fast’ today, so said he needs to slow down a bit and have a think more about the sections before rushing them.

“Overall but I’m happy with how I did. I just want to do a little bit better tomorrow,” finished Middelton.

Finishing third, with 55-marks was Chris Bayles, while Connor Hogan and Bruce Le Riche completed the top five respectfully.

Just like Middleton, Kristie Mckinnon was all class in the Women’s category, storming to victory by only racking up 8-marks for the entire day.

The 33-year-old expressed that it was a very good day, and he she “loved” the sections as it had so many rocks to play with, which she likes a lot.

“Hats off to the Trials Club of Victoria, as they have made some very good sections, with a mix of everything. This definitely kept me busy throughout the day and a challenge to keep my feet up as well,” said Mckinnon, who beat Michelle Coleman, who scored 35-marks.

On the second lap, McKinnon definitely got a few added points to her name, which she probably didn’t need. Why? She openly admitted that she thought she was just being a “little bit lazy.”

“The first lap I thought a lot harder to keep my feet up and where I was going, compared to the second lap,” explained Mckinnon, who is gunning for ninth Australian championship.
Mckinnon is confident heading into tomorrow. However, she is not getting to ahead of herself just yet, as she knows anything can happen, and normally does in Trials.
“I’m not counting my chickens just yet. I’ll just keep a clear head and keeping focusing and if the championship comes, it comes,” concluded Mckinnon.

Lillie Yiatrou was third overall with 49-marks. Rounding out the top five was Nicole Casey and Jenna Lupo.

In the Junior 12 – under 16, it was a much closer scrap for the lead, with Tom Woodhouse prevailing for the day by scoring 13-marks and taking the win on the opening day. Joint on 13-marks, but in second place was Maverick Ford, while three marks down was Alex Cowan with 16 marks to his name.

Day two of competition will ignite into action tomorrow at 9am AEDT.

Images: Russell Colvin
Editorial: Rusell Colvin

Results:
Solo
1st Kyle MIDDLETON 14
2nd Colin ZARCZYNSK 46
3rd Chris BAYLES 55
4th Connor HOGAN 57
5th Bruce LE RICHE 60

Women
1st Kristie MCKINNON 8
2nd Michelle COLEMAN 35
3rd Lillie YIATROU 49
4th Nicole CASEY 54
5th Jenna LUPO 77

Junior 12 – under 16
1st Tom WOODHOUSE 13
2nd Maverick FORD 13
3rd Alex COWAN 16
4th Haydon BARWICK 20
5th Billy GOUGH 24

This weekend the best trials riders from around Australia will invade Sedgwick, located in northern Victoria, 16km out Bendigo, for the 2018 “Delecca’s” Australian Trial Championship.

All up, 110 riders, which cover classes from Veterans, Twin Shocks, Classic, Juniors, Juniors 13-16 boys, Open Women and Solo, will tackle sixty sections, which has been laid out and designed by Trials Club of Victoria.

So just how demanding will these sections be this weekend? To break it down, the sections will be set in vary of levels in every sections, as some riders may find some of the sections quite easy, and some may find them difficult.

Trials is obviously a complete polar opposite discipline, say to road racing where every rider races on the same circuit and your ability is graded on your time it takes to get around the track.

With trials, the grading is different as it’s the size of the obstacle you ride. For example, a veteran’s type rider would normally ride something with a vertical face of about a meter high, while an open solo rider would ride an obstacle with a vertical face of about a three meters high.

Trials Club of Victoria president Philip Whittle has expressed that this weekend race fans will be able to witness up close action to the event, as spectators will be able to stand right on the boundary tape and watch the action unfold.

“Race fans will be blown away with the size of the obstacles that the expert riders will be riding and the size of the obstacles some of the juniors will be riding as well,” said Whittle.

“The skills which these riders will show and bike control will leave people scratching their heads and wondering how they do it.”

With trials, it’s all about bike control. It’s about how you use your clutch, brake, throttle and your body to get the most out of your motorcycle. This is why Whittle has explained that spectators will be “amazed” at the size of these obstacles the experts can ride and without hardly using any input from their bikes engines.

“It’s a skill which they have and its one everyone has to witness to understand it for themselves,” added Whittle.

In the Open Solo, Whittle, who has spent his whole life around Trials, believes 28-year-old Kyle Middleton will be the man to beat this weekend, as he aims to lock up a sixth straight Australian Trials Championship to his name.

However, keep a very watchful eye on Tasmanians Chris Bayles will be one rider who is on a mission this weekend, as he will be throwing everything at it this weekend to try and put a stop to Middleton’s defence, after he has played the bridesmaid for the last few years now.

The dark horse this weekend could be Connor Hogan, who has been riding in Europe all year in the Trials2 division of the FIM Trial World Championship, and recently just came back from riding in the Trial des Nations (TdN) and just won the Victorian Trials Championship.

“Connor’s riding has improved over the last few years,” said Whittle.

“We also have a couple of South Africans, in Brent and Bruce Le Ritchie who are also riding this weekend and very confident riders. I believe we are going to have a cracking championship this weekend.”

In the Open Women’s class, all eyes look towards Kristie McKinnon, who is the form rider and would more than likely be on course to win her ninth title.

Whittle finished off by saying; “Kristie is a standout rider in the Open Women’s class. She rides at a very, very high level and I can’t see anyone beating her. She has the bar set very high, which is a credit to her.”

The “Delecca’s” Australian Trial Championship takes place from 6-7 October.

Earlier this month Motorcycling Australia spoke with 2018 Trial des Nations Australian team member, Kyle Middleton, on his life and experiences overseas. Middleton dished the dirt on what his misses most about home “down under” and what’s been his strangest experience overseas so far!

Where are you currently competing?

I’m in Prague in the Czech Republic where I’ll be competing with my Aussie team mates in the Trial des Nations (TdN).

What’s the hardest thing about adapting to your new country?

I’m lucky that I’ve never had to spend long periods overseas, I’ve always come home regularly and these days I’m at home pretty much all of the time. One of the things I’ve always found hard overseas is that I’m the kind of person who always wants to be getting stuff done quickly (I’m impatient) and when you’re in another country that’s often difficult. You don’t know where places are, you don’t know the culture that well so shops for example can be closed at odd times of the day. I’m always wanting to do something during siesta time in Spain.

What do you miss most about home?

When I’m away I always miss my family and friends as well as my two Jack Russell dogs.

What is your preparation/training regime like?

Pretty hectic! I train five days a week, work full time and also go to university. Monday and Tuesday are university work nights, Wednesday through to Friday I go training after work more or less until dark and then on the weekend I usually do a few hours each day as well. It depends a bit on what events are coming up and how my body feels as to whether I do any off bike training except for stretching. At the moment it’s almost 100% on bike. My girlfriend, Em, is always trying to make sure I have a more varied training regime.

What’s been a highlight for you this year?

The Scottish Six Days Trial was both a highlight and a low light for me this year, it was a great experience and there were a few moments there mid way through the week that I’ll never forget like how much fun I was having and the sights that I was seeing, and then there were other moments when I wished I was anywhere but there. I really learnt a lot about myself in Scotland but mainly I got taught some serious lessons on how no level of preparation can prepare you for the severity of an event like The Scottish Six Days Trial. One of the most important lessons I learnt was that experience is key.

What is your single most motivating force?

Always improving and being the best are absolutely my driving forces, if I’m not doing either of those I really struggle to enjoy myself. I don’t like that I’m that way but it’s true.

Tell us a bit more about what you hope to achieve and what you have already achieved in 2018?

I’ve won the Australian X-Trial Championships & finished the Scottish Six Day Trial with a first class award. The season is really only just warming up so in the next few weeks I’ll have the New South Wales Titles & Australian Titles as well as the TdN where we will be defending our title which we won for the first time ever last year. Hopefully I can repeat last years success at all of these events.

What’s your strangest overseas experience been so far?

One time I was competing in the United States of America (USA) and my minder lost his bike. He came running to the next section all puffed and I was pretty annoyed he had taken so long to get there so I harshly asked him what took so long. He said he couldn’t find his bike and I was like “dude, how do you just lose your bike, where did you park it?”. It turns out that the bike we hired was for sale and a potential buyer thought they could take it for a test ride mid World Championship round. Lets just say that I owed Simon an apology.

Do you have a special message for your fans back home?

Just a huge thanks to all those supporters who have helped the Australian TdN team to get where it is. There’s no way we could have achieved what we have in the last few years without the awesome support from our community and Trials fans.

Favourite thing to do besides motorcycling?

There’s probably not a single thing but I do enjoy gardening, tending to my bees and playing Touch Rugby League with my girlfriend.

Embarrassing fact about you?

I’m a bit of a nerd, I like sci-fi, reading and gardening. I like quite a lot of nerdy things that you wouldn’t expect a motorcyclist to be in to…

Describe yourself in three words

Hairy, Obsessive, tired.

 

It was a tough weekend for Team Australia at the Trial des Nations in the Czech Republic. The Australian Men’s Team finishing in 6th place for the International Trophy and the Women’s Team finishing in 8th place. The competition was fierce and conditions were tough throughout the weekend. Despite this, the Aussies showed plenty of grit and determination. 
 
Spain stormed to a fantastic fifteenth consecutive FIM Trial des Nations victory at a wet, wild and spectacular Sokolov venue in the Czech Republic with their three-man team of Toni Bou – Repsol Honda and Gas Gas team-mates Jeroni Fajardo and Jaime Busto reigning supreme in the Men’s World Championship category.
 
It was a much closer-fought affair in the Women’s TDN class where, competing alongside the men for the first time in the competition’s rich and illustrious history, Great Britain’s Emma Bristow – Sherco, Donna Fox – Montesa and Jess Brown – Scorpa regained the title they lost last year to Spain.
 
With the best two scores through each section counting towards a country’s result, riders from twenty-three nations faced a mixture of man-made hazards featuring huge boulders and more natural terrain in nearby woods where grip was at a minimum. Day-long torrential rain and plunging temperatures added to the drama and forced organisers to modify the sections as the event became a war of attrition.
 
The Australians noted that the rain and steep hills were far from ideal for them. The effort they put in was unrelenting and showed true Aussie spirit, but the results were not what they were after.
 
The TDN brought a close to the 2018 TrialGP season, and marked the second and yet another successful season with Sport7 at the helm. For a full list of results head to http://trialgp.com/index.php/results/results-standings
 
Motorcycling Australia would like to thank Team Australia Competitors Kyle Middleton, Connor Hogan, Chris Bayles, Kristie McKinnon, Michelle Coleman and Jenna Lupo for their efforts representing Australia on the world stage. MA would also like to thank Team Manager Phil Whittle and minders, Daniel Felton, Jacob Whittle, Hayden Ahrens and Sam Hull.
 
To keep up-to-date with all the happening from the 2018 Trial des Nations, stay tuned to the Motorcycling Australia Website or the Australian Trials Community Facebook page.

 

The Australian 2018 Trial des Nations (TdN) Team are raring to go and contest this year’s event at Sokolov, Czech Republic, September 22-23. The TdN is without a doubt one the most prestigious motorcycle trial world events on the FIM calendar. After taking the International Trophy last year, Team Australia are aiming to once again punch above their weight and defend their title.

The world’s elite trial riders from all over the world have converged at Sokolov. An incredible twenty-three different countries have come together to decide global bragging rights across three classes.
 
It is hardly surprising given their dominance of the modern-day sport that Spain reign supreme in the premier Men’s World Trophy category. In fact, in the event’s thirty-four-year history the Trial powerhouses have won on no fewer than twenty-four occasions and are looking to stretch their current win-streak in the competition to a fantastic fifteen.

 
However, it’s the International Trophy and the Women’s classes that Australia will compete in. The Men’s International Trophy is always fiercely-fought and incredibly competitive and this year the Australian team will be going all-out to defend their title with strong opposition expected to come from, among others, the United States and Czech Republic teams.
 
Making up the Men’s effort for Australia will be Kyle Middleton, Connor Hogan and Chris Bayles. These three pulled off an amazing achievement last year with Australia’s first ever International class victory. Of course, this adds extra pressure for them to attempt to go back to back but they will relish the challenge. These three riders were very successful back at the Australian X-trial Championship earlier this year in Perth. Middleton is also the current Australian Trial Champion in the Solo Class.

 
The Australian Women’s Team will have a new look this year with Kristie McKinnon, Michelle Coleman and Jenna Lupo making up the squad. McKinnon, a multiple time Australian Trials Champion and Michelle Coleman will return to the fold after several years away from the team. Tasmanian Jenna Lupo will be looking to make a strong impression.
 
The team have recently touched down in Sokolov and have spent the past day setting the bikes up. They even managed to get a practice in and were happy with the bikes and the training session.
 

To keep up-to-date with all the happening from the 2018 Trial des Nations, stay tuned to the Motorcycling Australia Website or the Australian Trials Community Facebook page.