Rain. You may remember one week where the only weather was rain? Well following that
week was round 2 of the trials national champs. It didn’t rain on the day, but that
was the least of the worries…

Arriving at the site, the car park had been split between two fields, one heading
up the hill, and another one heading down the hill. A rush of blood to the right
foot meant heading up the hill. Big mistake. As all sorts of engine horrors were
about to happen, I decided that discretion was the better part of valour, and headed
to the lower field. That hill beat a Mercedes traction control system, and if the
riders liked you, you got a push. The Merc didn’t.

As the 11am starting time passed, it was clear that not enough observers had stepped
forward. A sadly regular occurrence these days, and annoying when 100 riders had
paid £11 each. A plan should be set to ensure observers are available, especially
at a national event!

All the usual suspects were in attendance, with Martyn Ashton being the only noticeable
absentee. Sadly, his appearance at a trial these days is rare, but if you’ve got
a job to do… The smart money was on a Chris Akrigg vs. Eddie Tongue battle, but
that didn’t take into account Martin Hawyes new found drive. He’s been training,
and was probably the only rider wearing a heart rate monitor, and as a result he
put in some great rides, some even bettering Chris Akrigg’s. Martin and Chris actually
rode around the sections together, and the results showed as they picked up lines
and tips from each other. Chris rode some amazing sections, pulling off things most
riders would only dream of doing, but 5s along the way showed a man who could be
beaten.

Speaking of the sections, usually heading off to different parts of the country means
different obstacles, Yorkshire’s rock steps, Essex’s roots, and Shropshire’s stream.
Singular. All but two of the sections were set along the stream meaning all the sections
were in a line about half a mile long. Great when you’ve just finished section 10,
you’ve got to get to section 1, and you’ve only got a 22 tooth chainring. The sections
were also much harder than normal, with the blue, intermediate, route featuring obstacles
usually seen on much harder routes. The sections also degraded badly because of the
rain leading upto the event turning most things into mud. The best quote was ‘As
hard as [round 1] Devon, but without the enjoyment.’

Top honours to Chris Akrigg again, but second to Martin Hawyes was a big shock, especially
as Eddie had pulled in such a great result at Sea Otter, in California, at the start
of the year. Matt Tongue, Eddie’s older brother, would have made the podium but for
a couple of late 5s.

Grin-meister Barry Deeks was stoked at winning the seniors class, but perhaps his
joy should be curbed slightly by the fact that the top 3 juniors, riding the same
sections, would all have beaten him had they been in the same class. Junior rider
Kurt Brain told me halfway around that this will probably be his bad result of the
year, after all he was suffering from a throat infection and the aftermath of an
MX incident. He’d be happy with a podium, he just wants to be better for the Worlds.
He won.

Elite:

1: Chris Akrigg (Pace) 30

2: Martin Hawyes (Giant) 33

3: Eddie Tongue (Pashley) 42

4: Matt Tongue (Pashley) 51

5: Stuart Matthews (Megamo) 55

Senior:

1: Barry Deeks (MAD Saracen) 58

2: David Holmes (Megamo) 61

3: Dan Holroyd 65

Junior:

1: Kurt Brain (Megamo) 27

2: Kris Leeson (Orange) 43

3: Harvey Radford (GT) 53