British riders have enjoyed no shortage of success over the years in the class for the youngest competitors in the Hertz FIM Trial World Championship and this run of form looks set to continue in 2021.
Trial125 is the lowest rung on the TrialGP ladder and represents the ideal starting point for anyone looking to progress to the very highest level. Since 2004, British riders have won it on no fewer than six occasions – more than any other nation – and following last month’s opening round at Tolmezzo in Italy they hold the first three positions.
Setting the pace at the front is 16-year-old Jack Dance who won the opening day’s competition at the Italian TrialGP and backed this up with second on day two to open up an early four-point advantage over Harry Turner (Scorpa) with Harry Hemingway (Beta) a further five adrift in third.
“Obviously, the first round is always a bit of an unknown quantity because you don’t know who’s been training the hardest so to win on the opening day in Italy was a big confidence boost,” said Dance. “On the second day it was a tight trial so I just had to keep my focus.
“It’s great that British riders are filling the first three spaces after the Italian TrialGP and I know I’ll have to get my act together to stay above both of them.”
A five-time national champion, Dance has been riding since he was three and was part of the first generation of riders to cut their teeth on an electric bike when he landed a deal with OSET.
“I was one of the first people in England to ride one and now there are so many riders coming through in the Trial World Championship who started on them. I know that’s a big thing for OSET owner Ian Smith and his son Oliver that so many of their riders are coming through the ranks.”
Dance got an early introduction to the sport thanks to his father.
“My dad used to ride. He was pretty decent and we used to ride abroad sometimes – the French Four-Day and some trials in Belgium. That’s what got me hooked – I just used to ride around in the paddock.”
Now in just his second season in the series after finishing fourth last year, Dance’s dedication – he regularly makes a 400-mile round trip from his home just so he can practice – is paying off and he’s setting his sights on one day graduating to the premier class.
“I’ve always wanted to compete against riders who were better than me and challenge myself. I’ll hopefully go all the way [up to TrialGP] – that’s my ambition. I’d like to pursue it as my career.”
The Trial125 class bursts back into action alongside the TrialGP, Trial2 and Trial-E classes at round three of the 2021 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship – the Andorran TrialGP – on August 20-22.
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