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Competition Guide


Mark W

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Nothing terribly exciting I'm afraid - more of a resource for those out there who are thinking about doing their first comp. Filmed at the Fort William round of the British Trials Cup by Adam in between running the Give It A Go area, this should hopefully cover most aspects of comps for riders who've never been to one before.

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Yeah, it's not too bad really, although before I rode my first comp I stressed quite a bit about which category to enter as there was basically no photos/footage of anyone riding blue or red so I didn't really know I needed to be capable of - that's kind of what we were hoping to do with this in a way. It's not an exhaustive guide, but it's better than nothing I'd hope!

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The sections are always a lot harder than the look, though. If you think red looks do-able for you, I would probably say blue is the best route for you to enter.

I could do all the moves in red, but not first go, and not 3, 4, 5, 6 of them strung together within 2 and a half minutes - this is where the difficulty lies.

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...not to mention you can't really get a feel for how rough the take-offs/landings are for a bunch of those lines. Before I rode the comps I entered I always thought "Should be able to boss that", then I'd get into the section and realise all the bits around the obstacles made life much harder.

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The sections are always a lot harder than the look, though. If you think red looks do-able for you, I would probably say blue is the best route for you to enter.

I could do all the moves in red, but not first go, and not 3, 4, 5, 6 of them strung together within 2 and a half minutes - this is where the difficulty lies.

You´re probably right, but i was talking about the Elite sections, from the video they dont look stupid difficult as what i catch here or in Spain comps, but yes, videos dont show the real live stuff anyway.

Would love to have a go on those sections, i really like the UK feeling for trials.

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i was talking about the Elite sections, from the video they dont look stupid difficult as what i catch here or in Spain comps, but yes, videos dont show the real live stuff anyway.

Oh I see what you mean - there was only one clip of yellow since you have to be seeded to enter that route, so you'd have been doing comps for years to ride it anyway :)

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That's quality that Adam, just what it needed for clarification. I especially like the bit about the dab.

As im a novice(green route) level rider with a couple of years experience(and quite a few with age, im 32 this year), i feel i can offer a few tips for the budding comp rider.

I can't stress enough about dabs/tactical dabs. If you need to reposition your body/bike after a dab, do it all with your foot on the floor. Don't lift off then put down again as you'll be penalised. Another trick is find something to wedge your front wheel against, so you have 3 points of contact, to enable you to rest your hands/feet even if its only for a few seconds. Trust me, it makes the world of difference, and gives your mind the chance to regroup so you can carry on. I use this trick quite a bit, and it certainly helps on the longer sections.

Another one for novice/intermediate riders is dont try to get up stuff cleanly unless you are absolutely confident you can do it. Don't be afraid to use a pedal or crank arm, or bash plate/ring. That's what they are there for. There is no shame in going up to pedal on an obstacle, then using your body weight to rock it over.

And last of all, don't rush it. Take a few seconds here and there to think about things. There are 2m 30 secs to get through the section, and very rarely will you get timed out. I've found after a few years of doing comps that if you rush into it, you'll more than likely have a bale, and end up with a 5. On the first gate, look for somewhere to get your front wheel up nice and safely to you can roll out and onto up the next gate

Hope this little bit helps, if anything sounds wrong dont hesitate to point it all out

Dan

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