Yee-hah as Brits rule

Five riders in the top seven, including the top four, in one of the toughest Extreme events in the world is an awesome result. 

 

And what have all those lads got in common? Easy one that – they were/ are all National standard trials riders!

 

Dougie Lampkin, his fellow Yorkshire-bred cousins, the brothers Ben and Dan Hemingway, Lancashire lad Paul Bolton and the winner, Cumbrian Jonny Walker, all cut their teeth in the feet-up game.

 

Doug, Dan, Ben and Paul are all vets these days and while we have grown to expect top results from these guys the really good news is youngster Jonny. 

 

The TMX columnist, just 20-years-old, has now well and truly arrived on the International radar and Jonny's profile is set to go through the roof.

 

Jonny has already bagged an invite to the X-Games in California next month and his Erzberg win is sure to secure him many similar invites. 

 

It's a far cry from riding a TY80 on his native Cumbrian fells, but it is proof positive that if you have the talent it will find a way out. 

 

Jonny has only been riding the fast stuff for a couple of years, but his trials training has set him in good stead. As things stand he is now the natural heir to Taddy Blazusiak, the man who set the trend for moving from trials to the world of Extreme and who has carved himself out an envious niche in the sport. 

 

And where did it all begin for Taddy? In a one-off ride at Erzberg on a borrowed bike on which he duly won!

 

The British boys didn't get things all their own way either. The north west's Jane Daniels – who started out in trials and still rides whenever she can – battled her way to the top in the Ladies' category, beating allcomers on her way to an impressive 122nd place overall from the 500 qualifiers. 

 

Jane started the weekend by topping the Ladies' Qualifying on the Prologue race up the awesome Iron Mountain Road. 

 

 

To set the pace on a standard 150 KTM is pretty special against opposition which was mainly on much more powerful machinery.

 

At TMX we've been following Jane's career with interest since first spotting her as a schoolgirl riding the local Wednesday evening trials series and later got her involved her in a motocross 

training session with Mark Hucklebridge. 

 

Since then Jane has competed in virtually every form of off-road sport including trials, enduro, hare and hounds and pitched straight into a British Ladies MX Championship round and finished sixth in her very first race.

 

We just hope that Jane's Erzberg exploits earn her some deserved support from the industry. 

 

She has certainly earned it.