It’s a discipline where the balance of probabilities takes on real meaning, and it’s on again this weekend (October 5-6) as the 2024 GASGAS Australian Trial Championship is held at Ravenswood, near the major Victorian regional city of Bendigo.
Promoted by the Trials Club of Victoria, 130 riders will take to the incredible ‘Ravenswood Run’ – including five of our six 2024 Trial des Nations (TdN) representatives as well as multiple Aussie Trial1 champion Kyle Middleton – which is a classic Victorian granite venue where hills, rocks and boulders are the order of the weekend.
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The event will host a variety of Australian championships for seniors and juniors, with seven riders in defence mode at Ravenswood Run – just the type of pressure-cooker environment that’s guaranteed to generate some thrilling competition.
Two riders looking to retain silverware are Middleton in Trial1 and Kaitlyn Cummins in the women’s class – for the mercurial Middleton that’s certainly nothing new, as he’s been undefeated in the Aussie title since 2013.
This year, Middleton skipped the TdN in Spain due to mounting professional and family commitments, but the New South Welshman would love nothing more than to extend his winning streak in the Australian championship into another year.
Of course, it could all come down to the finest of margins, with British teenage sensation Harry Turner shaping as Middleton’s main rival. The pair pushed each other to the limit in last weekend’s Victorian title, where the Aussie got the spoils by just 1pt.
Turner is the real deal, and finished 12th in the 2024 Trial2 world title, a class that has a serious amount of depth as Aussies Jarad Boniface and Connor Hogan found out after competing in the European-based rounds.
Boniface and Hogan will also compete at Ravenswood, as well as Jonathan Chellas and Chris Bayles who lined alongside Hogan in the TdN where the Aussie men finished 11th in what was a tight battle for the mid-pack positions.
The 10-rider Trial1 roster will also include seasoned veterans and siblings, Colin and Kevin Zarczynski, who were both Australian champions – Colin on multiple occasions – before the Middleton reign began.
In the 2023 championship, Middleton defeated Hogan and Bayles, while in the women Cummins reigned supreme ahead of Michelle Coleman and Jenna Lupa.
Coleman took a convincing win in the Victorian title, so she’ll be confident that a second Aussie title could be within her grasp, while Lupa is the third big gun in that battle.
The other defending champions are Kalam Langworthy (Trial 4), Joshua Austin (Trial 3), Hector Pinto (Junior 7-U11), Asha Nuttall (Junior Girls 7-U13), Jacob Whittle (Classic) and Toby Coleman (Vets 40-55).
There will also be state, trade and club championships at the event, which begins on Friday with scrutineering and familiarisation sessions before competition commences on Saturday and continues throughout the weekend from 10am-4pm.
Entry is free for spectators, and the address of the venue is Ravenswood Street, Ravenswood, Vic.
