Trials at the 2010 Worlds: 20-inch, 26-inch and a Spanish sweep
Trials is the least known of the disciplines raced at Mont-Sainte-Anne in 2010 and, for many first-time spectators, the most astonishing. Riders hop, balance and climb over boulders, logs and built obstacles without putting a foot down. Six world titles were at stake, from the semi-finals on Thursday 2 September to the 26-inch finals on the last day.
Observed trials in a nutshell
A trials competition is a series of "sections", short marked zones full of obstacles. Each rider tackles them one at a time under the eye of an observer, a judge who counts penalties. Putting a foot or another part of the body on the ground (a "dab") costs a point; a fall, leaving the section's boundaries or running out of time costs the maximum of five. A clean ride scores zero. The rider with the fewest points over all laps wins, with the number of clean sections used to break ties. Speed, in other words, matters only to the extent of finishing within the time limit; precision is everything.
Championships run in rounds. Semi-finals thin the field to a handful of riders for each final, where the sections are harder and the crowd closer. Because the sections are compact, spectators can stand a few metres from the riders, which is rarely possible in other disciplines.
Two wheel sizes, two categories
Men's trials is split by wheel size. 20-inch bikes descend from BMX: very small, very low, with no seat at all, they favour explosive moves and tight pivots. 26-inch bikes are closer to a mountain bike in proportions and allow bigger gaps and steps. Each category has its own specialists, though a few riders were world-class on both. Women raced a single category in 2010, open to either wheel size.
2010 podiums
| Category | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elite men, 20-inch | Benito Ros Charral (Spain) | Abel Mustieles Garcia (Spain) | Rick Koekoek (Netherlands) |
| Elite men, 26-inch | Kenny Belaey (Belgium) | Benito Ros Charral (Spain) | Marc Caisso (France) |
| Junior men, 20-inch | Ion Areitio (Spain) | Raphael Pils (Germany) | Marius Merger (France) |
| Junior men, 26-inch | Ion Areitio (Spain) | David Bonzon (Switzerland) | Maxime Tolu (France) |
| Women | Gemma Abant Condal (Spain) | Karin Moor (Switzerland) | Tatiana Janicková (Slovakia) |
| Team | Spain | France | Germany |
Spain won five of the six titles, team event included. Benito Ros took the 20-inch crown and added silver on the 26-inch bike, a rare double podium. The 26-inch title went to Belgium's Kenny Belaey, one of the best-known names in the sport and already a multiple world champion. Ion Areitio won both junior categories, and Gemma Abant took the women's title. The team competition, which combines riders from several categories, also went to Spain.
Why trials belonged with mountain biking, and why it left
Separate trials world championships existed from 1986. From 2000 to 2016 the UCI held them together with the mountain bike championships, which is why Mont-Sainte-Anne hosted both in 2010. Since 2017 trials has been part of the UCI Urban Cycling World Championships, alongside BMX freestyle. The move reflects how the sport has evolved: modern trials is increasingly ridden on artificial obstacles in city centres rather than on natural rock.
Sources
- Wikipedia, "2010 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships" (medal tables).
- Wikipedia, "UCI Mountain Bike World Championships" (combined championships 2000 to 2016; trials moved to Urban Cycling from 2017).
- Wikipedia, "Mountain bike trials" (scoring and categories).