Younger fans will be familiar with the Hemingway name through the heroics of brothers Harry and George who between them have dominated the FIM Trial3 World Championship for the last three years, but how many have heard of Ben Hemingway who was a member of Britain’s victorious team twenty-one years ago?
Now aged forty-seven, Hemingway – who is the uncle of Britain’s two brightest teenaged talents and a cousin of seven-time TrialGP champion Dougie Lampkin – was very much the accidental hero of Team GB in 2003 after travelling to Lavarone in the foothills of the Italian Alps purely to cheer on his compatriots.
Back then TdN teams comprised four riders and Britain, the reigning champions, were fielding an unchanged quartet of Dougie Lampkin, Steve Colley, Sam Connor and Graham Jarvis, but when one of their key riders was taken ill the night before the competition their title defence looked to be over before it even started.
Luckily, they had Hemingway waiting in the wings…
“I only went out to watch,” he said, “but Steve got food poisoning and couldn’t ride so on the morning of the Trial I got a knock on my van door. Luckily, I’d packed my van like I would for a world championship round so I had my bike, my brother Dan’s bike and all my riding gear with me. I even had my licences. So Dan minded for me, I rode and we ended up winning.”
Hemingway, who to this day remains heavily involved with international Trial, had made his FIM Trial World Championship debut as a teenager in the 1990s and already had a bronze medal from the 2000 TdN at Seva in Spain so he was an automatic pick for the role as an emergency fill-in rider.
“It was a massive privilege, the only major problem was I didn’t have a green helmet. I tried to wear Steve’s, but it was too small for my big head. Luckily, my helmet had a Union Jack painted on it.”
Despite suffering a migraine on the day, Hemingway played his part to perfection and Britain defeated the Spanish team of Adam Raga, Albert Cabestany, Marc Colomer and Marc Freixa by a single mark.
“Winning was an absolutely unbelievable feeling. It was totally out of the blue, but all our stars aligned and everyone rode really well. It was a really good Spanish team and the result was so close, but we all rode so well that day.
“As I get older I’m becoming aware of what a fantastic achievement it was. It’s hard to believe that was twenty-one years ago and it’s always nice to remind myself that I was part of the team. Representing my country was a massive thing for me, it’s such a privilege to ride for your country. It means so much.
“The TdN is such a unique event. Trial riders are all friendly people anyway, but it’s amazing how close your team-mates become after you’ve competed against them throughout the year and the minders are such a big part of the team as well. It’s a fantastic event.”
