A new site, new racing formats, and highly motivated riders: on the square in front of the Polish Museum of Aviation in Krakòw, the first day of the UCI Trials World Cup fulfilled its promise.
In the 20-inch category, 44 trials riders were present at the start of the quarter-finals. This was a physically challenging beginning, at the end of which seventeen competitors qualified for the semi-finals, scheduled to take place on Sunday morning.
The best performance of the day was by the Swedish rider Joacim Nymann, winner of Group A with an encouraging 0 points. At the head of Group D with 1 point, the Frenchman Théau Courtès made no secret of his satisfaction: “First and second of all those who qualified: I can’t wait for the semi-final,” he explained. At his side, the German Dominik Oswald, UCI Junior World Champion 2014 and winner of Group B (2 points), confirmed that the other riders must reckon with him this season. The same goes for the French rider Alex Rudeau, 3rd in the World Championships at Lillehammer and 1st in Group C (4 points).
With two riders qualified – Oriol Roca and Eloi Palau – the Spanish armada proved that it had the resources behind its leaders. This trend should be repeated in the semi-finals, with the participation of the ten first riders in the UCI rankings, and directly qualified. Among the favourites, Abel Mustieles, triple winner of the World Cup, and Benito Ros, five times winner of the circuit (2005 and 2008 to 2011) are eagerly awaited by the Polish spectators.
In the 26-inch category, 33 competitors were lined up at the start of the quarter-finals. The French team had succeeded in marking its territory with four riders qualified. This was the biggest contingent of the day, and included Nicolas Vuillermot, winner of Group C (18 points). The Spaniard Pol Tarres, first in Group A, achieved the best performance of the quarter-finals with 0 point. He is closely followed by the Hungarian rider Laszlo Hegedus, winner of Group D (1 point). In Group B, it’s the Polish rider Pawel Reczek who won with 8 points.
In the semi-finals, everyone will meet with the cream of the discipline. The young British rider, Jack Carthy, eagerly awaited after his victory in the general rankings of the UCI World Cup last year, will not be the only rider to defend his country’s colours, as Steven Rogers and David Kerr succeeded in the qualifications. The same holds true for the Frenchmen Kévin Aglaé and Nicolas Vallée, who will be “accompanied” by Vuillermot, Brunetaud, Meot and Cardona. As for the Spanish riders, Sergi Llongueras, silver medallist in the UCI Trials World Championships in the Junior 26-inch category, will have to be watched closely, as well as his countryman Rafael Tibau.
At the end of the day, the Women semi-finals were stopped after an incident during the race.