Tuesday April 9, 2013 at 12:40pm
A record 21 riders took part in the Southern OSET Cup opening rounds at Offham Quarry in Kent… with two excellent days of trialling put on by No Limits Trials Academy's Andy Hogg. It was a fantastic start to what should be a fantastic season. The trial was preceded by an Easter Egg hunt on Sunday, and a 'ride the plank' challenge for more sweets on Monday, so the kids were all suitably sugared up before the start!
A practice lap gave the riders a chance to shake off the winter cobwebs and get comfortable with the sections, and went a long way to removing any nervous jitters. 6 sections were ridden 4 times on Sunday, and again on Monday in the reverse direction. 3 different routes were set, catering to all abilities, with a fourth line added for OSET's own Oliver Smith for an extra challenge! A few of the little ones rode their OSET 12.5's, while the majority rode OSET 16's and 20's. It was great to see the variety of customised bikes on show, and to see so many new faces having such a fun time.
Families from the South East of the Country were joined by riders from as far away as Sheffield, the New Forest and Peterborough showing that for a fun enough event, distance is no object!
The hard route was won convincingly by Kent's own local star Alex Davies on a very trick looking OSET 20, with Frankie Ely showing some skills that will surely see him challenge for wins in the future. The middle route was split into categories for the OSET 16 and the OSET 20, with the 'big wheel' win going to Sophie Bailey, while the 'medium wheel' win went to Jack Brush… a mere one point in front of Rowan Campbell Pilling. The easy route was the biggest class, with a mix of OSET 12.5's and 16's. Connor Heathfield took the top spot from Stefan Richardson and Maddie Saunders, with the legion of riders behind them very closely spaced.
Being an OSET Cup event, no child went away empty handed. The top three in each class received trophies with all others receiving medals. Two special awards were given to the 'Rider of the Day' for each day's trial, with these going to the two smallest riders… Elliot Smith and Archie Turner. They both proudly lofted their trophies from the top step of the podium!
It looks like this will be a very successful series, with a total of 8 rounds and 6 to count for the Championship. Next round is on the 5th of May, with a chance to ride the day before in a demonstration area at the annual Offham Fete. For further information on the Southern OSET Cup Series contact Andy Hogg at hogg-a1@sky.com. For information on all OSET events, visit the OSET web site at www.osetbikes.co.uk.