2012 has been a monumental year for me. It has seen trials become an even more significant part of my life and I have achieved my two biggest goals - to become the No.1 Australian & to place in the top 10 in a World Championship event.
I thought I would write a bit of an overview from my season, tell you guys a little bit about what I have done and recap some of the great moments and struggles I have had throughout the year. I'll break things up into some major parts, try to keep it short & interesting but I just have so much to tell so let's see how it goes.
Aussie World Rounds
Let's start here and wow, we finally did it! Isn't it just a dream come true for all us Aussies trials riders? The Aussie world rounds were a big moment for me. It was my first outing with my new sponsor, Jitsie, and I put myself under more pressure than I ever have before. I still can't believe that I pulled off 8th and best Aussie both days! Special thanks must go to the team that made this happen.
I started the event incredibly nervous, and fiving the first section, typically the easiest one in a world round. I remember clearly hearing people cheering for me and shouting, "go Kyle" as I rode in the gate. But anyway, I've learnt not to let a five bother me, so I carried on. I continued to ride nervously but was doing ok. When I got to around half way through the first lap I started to get cramps in my arms, which was strange because it was only the first lap and I haven't had a cramp in years. By the time I started the second lap I knew I was in big trouble because my physical condition was plummeting fast. I struggled my way through the rest of the day, still having some good rides here and there, but basically just getting through the day. By the time I had finished I couldn't move without every muscle in my body cramping. I went to sit down, get some fluids in and have something to eat but I continued to get worse, until I was in so much pain that I was struggling to breathe. This is when thankfully the medic came to get me because people were worried and had called for them. The medical team put me straight onto painkillers and ran a couple of litres of fluids through me. They told me that I was in a state of dehydration and said that the cold temperatures can do that to some people’s bodies.
On the second day, of course, I knew it was going to be a big day after what I had done to my body on the first but I had to go as hard as possible. I tried to ride smart and only do what I knew I could. I had some really awesome rides that I was happy with but I also had some bitterly disappointing ones. I don't think I will ever forget the feeling I got when I finally made it up the massive rock slab on section 12 and I heard a huge roar from 10,000 odd people across the valley. It was such a great feeling to know the Australian people were right behind me and were as excited about what had just happened as I was. I knew I couldn't put in a great performance on day 2 but I could still do the same as day 1, if not a little better. To finish No.1 Aussie on both days was so amazing, I didn't expect it at all and those two trophies will always be something I am super proud of.
Japan World Rounds
After the Aussie World Championship rounds I drove straight home and onto a flight to Japan the next day. I was so excited to finally be riding these rounds as I had planned to go last year but the tsunami put a stop to the plan. I rode in Japan on New Year's day back in 2011 and loved trials Japanese style, so I have been dying to go back since.
The sections on the first day weren't anywhere near as hard as the sections in Australia, mostly on loose and wet hill climbs, unlike anywhere outside of Japan. It was a lot of fun, with heaps of fourth gear, full throttle stuff. I had some good and bad rides but basically put in a nice ride and finished 10th. I was stoked with the result because although I was two places behind my result in Australia, I actually took out a couple of the Euro's who beat me previously.
Sunday brought a surprise though, because overnight the cheeky Japanese had absolutely soaked the sections and turned everything to mud! Some sections were foot peg high in it. I really wasn't comfortable in the conditions anymore and also had a few issues with my 2 day old rented bike which led to a slightly disappointing ride, but I was still happy to have pulled my head in & finished with some good rides at the end of the day. I finished in 10th again which I had to be pleased with.
Spain World Rounds
I flew straight from Japan to Spain for the Spanish rounds. These were in the south of Spain near Cordoba and it was super hot down there. Kristie McKinnon generously offered to mind for me because my father couldn't make the European rounds and she was riding in Andorra the next weekend. The sections in Spain were quite hard, like Australia, so Kristie definitely had her work cut out for her. I was riding only a couple of places behind Laia Sanz and for the first time I could see my riding level was much higher. This gave me confidence that I can definitely compete with the best. Laia eventually retired due to a huge crash, and she wasn't the only one who did so, with Loris Gubian going to hospital, Jack Sheppard & Toni Bou also biting the dust hard. I pulled together two 14th places, not bad but I definitely wanted to do better the next weekend in Andorra, after all, my goal is to be in the top 10.
Andorra World Rounds
Andorra this year was definitely a valuable event for me; I learnt a lot that weekend. I was competing without a minder, which was a very scary thing. I had to keep reminding myself the advice that my coach Jordi Pascuet gave me. Just two words "full gas". It has a lot more meaning past the obvious throttle turning. He meant that you are here so give it everything you have got and don't let anything stop you from doing that. Take yourself seriously and compete to get a result. He did also want me to turn the throttle more too; he always wants me to do that.
I set off with my young friend Oriol Pi, a 12-year-old local who’d offered to carry my drinks and help me as much as he could. The problem is, that at a young age like he is, it is not possible to have him in the sections, nor do you want him to be there, it's just too dangerous. I actually started fairly well and as my math genius helper, Oriol, told me half way around the lap, I was actually in the top 10. On the second lap I started with about 7 or so cleans in a row, just awesome, but then my rear brake failed and there was nothing I could do to fix it so I had to just carry on without a rear brake. I spoke to Jordi and told him my problem, his response was "you don't need it, just keep riding" but unfortunately I was just not capable of dealing with something like that yet and took a number of fives on the closing of the lap. I finished the day
in 17th place and missed out on scoring points in the championship. This was devastating after having had an awesome day until three quarters through. My mood was cheered up a little though when I found out that Kristie had finished 7th & had done so without even a water carrier! What a legend, she deserves a lot of credit for that.
The second day began well again, Gas Gas had fixed my rear brake issue from the previous day and I was confident I could do well. I made some mistakes but was going ok. I continually reminded myself "Full Gas" and was determined to not get any fives. It was all or nothing, no time to think about injuries or breaking the bike, I was going to do well or I was going to crash out. Nothing in between. Dabs here and there would be OK, so long as I threw myself 100% at every step, which I did. I actually did so much that I took my tyre off the rim in section 14 on the second lap. It payed off too, with a 12th place and although not a top ten, I was really happy with myself to have finished 12th on a day I didn't have a minder and at a round that every single top rider attended.
NSW Titles
The NSW titles were an absolute highlight for me. I had just returned from Europe and was on fire! My dad had also progressed quite a bit with the development of my bike while I was away and I was so comfortable on it. The sections had quite a few similarities to the famous 2009 Australian Titles and were BIG. I finished the weekend with a super low score, second placed Colin Zarczynski, lost 3 more than three times what I did! This was the best I have ever ridden at an event, and hopefully next year I can make that my baseline performance.
Australian Titles
The Australian titles gave me the result I have dreaming about for years, to be the top Aussie. Truth be known, this event was a huge effort for me, I pushed myself physically & psychology harder than I have ever before. My physical fitness wasn't great but I dug deep & forced every bit of effort possible out of myself. The psychology part has always been my biggest struggle at Australian Title events so this year I put a lot of focus on this side of things and have done a lot of training in that area. You always hear athletes talking about the people they put around them so I made the decision to fly my good friend, Simon Grist, over to Perth with me for the week to be, basically, my mental stability. I knew he was the right person for the job & he definitely played a huge role in the result.
As for the riding part of the event, it wasn't the easiest of weekends and I didn't feel nearly as good on the bike as I did at the NSW Titles, but I was just over the moon to have finally put in my best performance I could on the weekend at an Australian Titles. The event was actually quite wet which is something that suits me. I always feel confident in wet trials, well at least against other Aussies!
Trial des Nations
The TdN is always a big highlight of my year; I love being able to compete for Australia & it’s so awesome to be around trials riders from all over the world. I’ve made many friends at the TdN’s I have been to & I hope to compete at many more in the future. This year though, was really tough, two days after we arrived I came down with a really bad cold. I decided that I wouldn’t train or even leave my bedroom unless necessary in the days leading up to the event because I had already sorted my bike out & this was a seriously bad cold, much worse than I have ever had, I knew I was going to need every ounce of energy I could muster on the day. Plus I didn’t want any of our other team members picking it up.
The event itself was, well, wet! The sections were all on slippery hills and there was nothing but mud, very few obstacles, just mud. This of course wasn’t the most ideal condition for us Aussies but we all knew that we had a job to do and that was to perform.
I think the thing that stood out to me the most was the difficulty of getting to the sections. I have never in my whole life been to a trial where you see riders of my level & above finding it hard to even get round the loop. I can remember all of us on the Aussie team coming up to hills, all having a go, and all of us sliding back down the hill only to have another go. I eventually worked it out though, the key was to stick it in either 4th or 5th gear and hold it flat stick! Just power through the mud, like on a motocross bike. The problem was how could you expect a minder to do that? So this made for some seriously funny moments of overtaking minders crashing left right and centre & spraying mud all over anyone within 10 metres. It also meant that you either had to wait at every section for the minder to catch up or just ride without one. The Aussie team did a bit of both, we all looked after each other where we needed & shared minders as much as possible to make the day flow as smoothly as possible.
For me, the day was just really disappointing, I actually had some good rides but most of the day I was exhausted. I’ve really got to thank the boys on the team for helping me out and riding the last few sections first so when they got 3 cleans I didn’t have to ride (thems the rules). We finished the day seventh and I don’t think I was the only one who was absolutely ropable when we looked at the scores. The teams were all so close, if we had of dropped only 23 less points we would have been second! If you think about that, 23 points over a total of 144 sections ridden by the team, that’s not much, it shows how just tiny improvements could make the world of difference for us.
I don’t want to get too depressed about the TdN though, I believe possibly stronger than anyone that we can win our class. We have a team of very strong riders but we have it up against us in Europe. All we need is the conditions to suit us a little more than this year & for the whole team to have a good day & we will do it.
Summary
The year was definitely a big one for me, I learnt so much and my riding came a long way. It also changed the way I think about trials. I went into the season as a rider who was doing it for fun and at least on the world scene, didn't really expect much of myself. Now, I have proven to myself that I can actually compete with the best and am committed to taking it much further. In 2013, I plan to go back to Europe and I have a new dream of competing in a whole season over there. This will rely 100% on whether I can get the funding to do it but I don't want to look back and think I should have at least tried so let's see what happens.
Here I need to mention a few people who, without them, I wouldn't have been able to do what I have done. First are my family of course, they're awesome. Gas Gas Motos Australia have made sure I have had a bike anywhere I go & made sure it was the best one too, Cheers guys. Global Racing Oil have supported me in a massive way once again in Australia & in Europe, if want an oil that has been tried & tested in trials bikes then this is the brand. Jitsie came on board & took a risk in taking me on this year & have been awesome. These guys are some of the most passionate about the sport I have met, Thanks so much guys. Pacific Park have looked after me again this year and made sure that I have had the best terrain to practice on, you guys rock. Thanks to Kristie McKinnon for her help in Spain. I don't think I need to tell you how awesome she is. Thanks Oriol Pi for the help in Andorra, what a legend, I cant wait to see what the future brings for you! Cheers to Boofa (Simon Grist) you don't know how much I owe to you. Finally thanks Jordi Pascuet for all the help, not just this year but year after year. Jordi has made me the rider I am today.
I hope you enjoyed the read.
Kyle.