Tuesday September 4, 2012 at 12:43pm
If you go down to the woods today…so the old song goes. And for anyone taking a stroll through Fron woods in North Wales on Saturday, they would have been surprised to stumble across over 20 OSET machines, with riders aged 4 – 9, taking full advantage of the first electric event to be staged by Llangollgen Club.
Riders from across Wales and the North of England travelled to the venue to take part in a trial that consisted of four sections with three different routes. It was ridden three times forwards before the riders took a well-earned rest for energy refuelling before riding altered sections in reverse.
Lance Hurdsman, organiser, said: “I am delighted to be able to bring an electric event to Wales. We have attended many OSET events over the last 18 months so we know what works for these youngsters. The easy route is ideal for those brand new to trials. Intermediate is a real step up in skill level for those who don’t need to worry about bike control and are able to focus on the obstacles, while the hard route riders are now so good they are on par with national level courses.”
The E-Class hard route could not have been closer! Dominic Horne pipped local lad, Lewis Hurdsman on his homeground by just one dab, scoring 13 and 14 respectively. The two six year olds have been swapping podium places all year and this event proved the same, as only the final section on the final lap made the difference. Leeds-lad, Jak Heaney stepped up to the red route for the first time and had a very brave ride – definitely one to look out for next year and in typical Heaney style, the smile never left his face!
The intermediate route E-Class was won by Charlie Crossland. The five year old goes from strength to strength with every trial he attends and continued his current run of podium winning form. Myles Hutchinson, always consistent in his rides achieved a well-deserved second place while Morgan Shepherd brought home the third place trophy after a strong ride.
The E-Class on the easy course was taken by a delighted 4 year old Horne brother, Alex, as he comes to the end of a season that has seen his riding improve dramatically. Ellie Herrington was doing it for the girls to come in second, while Poppy Kendrick-Jones beat her identical twin brother Harley to get third and a coveted trophy.
Harry McLoughlin was the only D-Class rider to tackle the hard route and finished on a credible 34. Ryan Shepherd enjoyed a clear win on the intermediate as he rode a 20.0” OSET for the first time and made it look easy on 16 dabs. Matthew Higgins came in second on 28 and Aaron Chadwick in third.
D-Class easy route winner was Taylor Crossland who had a thoroughly enjoyable day, finishing the trial on just three dabs. Local OSET Dynamo members Samuel Cope and Nathan
Holmes enjoyed their first ever trial and were delighted to be taking home trophies.
As well as awards, Trials Wales provided a £50 voucher to the overall winner of each route. Mark Waterworth, said: “The E-Class and electric bikes are the fastest growing sector in trials riding and we’re delighted to support youngsters that we hope will go on to enjoy trials riding for many years to come.”
Barry Huskinson from OSET Bikes agreed. He said: “What a great turnout for the first event. We knew there were lots of riders in Wales and the North West, so it was great to see eleven new faces turn up to ride their first trial. This demonstrates there is a real need for clubs to provide conducted E-Class routes. One of the aims of the OSET Dynamos is to get youngsters out of their back garden and along to ACU events. We are able to offer support to clubs looking to run a conducted E-Class so anyone interested for the 2013 season should get in touch via www.osetbikes.co.uk.”