World BikeTrial Championship 2017 Pujalt, Catalunya Report

 

 

 

The 2017 World BikeTrial Championship was held in the remote Catalonian town of Pujalt 1 hour inland from Barcelona. The organisers had done a fantastic job in a short time after the cancellation of the original event at Bueu.
There was fantastic camping facilities that gave the event the traditional BIU family atmosphere for the week duration of the event.
Day 1 was for the Poussin (7-9 year old), Benjamin (10-12 year old) and Minime (13-15 year old) categories.
The sections were on a wooded hillside comprising very loose banks and rocks with a man made rock section to complete each lap.
The UK team were out in force and had a really successful day.
Poussin – Eddie Weightman 6th
Benjamin – Oliver Weightman 1st, Bailey Dacker 12th, Harry Turner 14th
Minime – Adam Morewood 1st, Reece Seymour 5th, Sam Shepherd 9th

Day 2 was for the older riders with Junior (16-18 year old), Senior 20″ & 26″ (19+ year old) and Elite 20″ & 26″.
The trial started with 3 man made sections in the town centre followed by 6 sections in the wood and finally another man made rock section.
It was another successful day for the UK riders.
Senior 20″ – Owen Gawthorpe 2nd, Aaron Duke 8th
Senior 26″ – Scott Wilson 5th
Elite 26″ – Ben Savage 1st
It’s the first time for many years the UK have had 3 wins and a second place at a World round so understandably the team spirit was high.
Wednesday was a rest day giving everyone time to regroup and check out the rocky sections located in a nearby Quarry ahead of round 2 for all classes. This was going to be tough for all riders as it was 30+ degrees and there was no shade available.
Day 3 of competition was  again for the youngsters with the pressure on for both riders and parents alike with the possibility of two UK World Champions.
Eddie Weightman rode a lot better in the youngest category finishing again in 6th place to claim 6th overall.
His brother Oliver held his nerve in the Benjamin class finishing in 2nd place to tie for the overall championship and take the win on the tie decider. What a great performance for someone attending his first World Championship. Bailey Dacker improved to 11th place with Harry Turner also improving in 13th place with them taking 11th and 14th in the championship overall.
In the Minime class Adam Morewood took a comfortable win in the trial to take his third World BikeTrial Championship. Reece Seymour took another 5th place in the trial and the championship with Sam Shepherd improving to 7th on the day and 8th in the championship.
Day 4 was another hot one. In the senior 20″ class Owen Gawthorpe took 3rd place giving him the overall silver medal with Aaron Duke improving to 7th on the day and in the championship.
Scott Wilson also improved in the senior 26″ class taking 4th in the trial and in the championship.
Ben Savage again took the win in Elite 26″ to win the title for the 2nd year running.

So a great trial, great organisation and to top it off three UK World Champions and with the back up of all the other UK riders the team took 3rd overall in the nations cup.