Emma Bristow bags third World Ladies title
By John Dickinson on 7th Sep 16
EMMA Bristow is the 2016 FIM Womens Trial World Champion!
The 25 year-old factory Sherco rider from Boston in Lincolnshire nailed her third consecutive Women's World crown in scorching conditions with a runaway winning double in Chiampo, north east Italy last weekend. Added to her opening double victory at Tong, in Yorkshire in the opening British round, her 80 point total is unbeatable – and the 2016 title is her's with one round still to take place in France this Friday, before the Trial des Nations.
With Emma home and dry already it is a whole different ball game for the minor placings in the Championship as no other contender has been able to find any consistency. Britain's current World #2 finished second on both days in Italy but was shocked to be excluded in the opening day in Italy due to a Technical infringement. Her TRS was found to be under the controversial FIM weight limit and the privateer from the Isle of Wight was booted out from what would have been third place.
Then on Sunday Becky was one of four girls to finish on 28 marks but lost out on the tie-break to finish fifth. Gas Gas mounted Sandra Gomez finished behind Becky but still retained second in the Championship.
The Italian round, run in the hills in the north east of the country, was staged over two days with each day scoring separately and in temperatures in the low 30s. It was run in conjunction with the men's final round but while the men's course was the conventional three laps of 12 sections the Women's comprised two laps of fifteen.
The trial was based in the town of Chiampo and the opening section was in the town centre before the entry rode to the main group of eleven sections some eight kilometres away. The Women's extra three sections were added en route to the main group.
On the opening day the first lap leader was actually Madrid's Sandra Gomez, who has been concentrating on extreme enduros in the last year winning the AMA Endurocross title in 2015 and followed that up with the FIM Women's SuperEnduro Cup early this year, taking the title from Emma Bristow.
Sandra, snapped up by Gas Gas early this year to ride trials (she has a Husqvarna endure contract) lost just five marks in total while Emma, who had cleaned the opening ten hazards, dropped a five at the eleventh – which was only cleaned by Gomez on both laps – and then one in the final section to end the loop one mark in arrears.
There were to be no more mistakes from the defending Champion as Emma breezed through the second lap of fifteen, dropping just a safe dab in the tricky eleventh for a total of seven.
Gomez dropped a two on the fourth sub, the same as her first lap and which was only cleaned twice by one rider, Bristow, but then a surprise five on the thirteenth unsettled her and two shaky dabs saw her finish the lap on nine and a total of 14. This was still well clear of third placed Theresa Bauml who only just got the better of countryman Sarah Bauer on atie-break after both riders dropped 26 marks. Becky Cook was robbed of third place due to the technical infringement.
Donna Fox took her Sherco a fine fifth after winning her tie-break with Spanish girl Mireia Conde, Beta, after both dropped 28 marks.
There were more Brits in the points with Katy Sunter, who enjoyed a great weekend at the opening round at Tong, taking her Gas Gas to eleventh while Scorpa's Jess Bown took a hard-earned fourteenth in the Italian heat. Louise Alford and Chloe Richardson just missed out on the points but finished inside the top twenty.
Sunday then saw Bristow at her imperious best with laps of two and two for a total of four with no one else even close. But there was a fantastic British one –two thanks to the ever bubbly Donna Fox, the thirty one year old enjoying her best ever finish in a World Champion ship event in what she has threatened will be her last season!
The results team were then called in yet again to sort out a tricky tie-break, this time involving Spain's Maria Conde, up and coming Spanish teenager Berta Abellan, Becky Cook and Sandra Gomez who finished in that order after somehow contriving to lose 28 marks apiece.
There were three more British girls in the points as joining Emma, Donna and Becky were Chloe Richardson, Jess Bown and Louise Alford showing what great strength in depth we have with six points scorers from the 40 contenders.
Emma can now go into the fifth and final round on Friday at Isola 2000 in the southern French alps as 2016 World Champion and with nothing to worry about except keeping her 100% winning record, and she will go all out for that.
For the rest of the girls though it all rests on their result on the day as second and third places in the Championship are wide open as contenders have to drop their worst score from the five days competition. With the disqualification on Saturday Becky has effectively already dropped hers and remains in a strong position to retain her vice-championship.
WORLD LADIES TRIALS CHAMPIONSHIP
Rd 2 – Valchiampo, Vicenza, ITALY
DAY ONE
1 Emma BRISTOW (GB - Sherco) 6 + 1 = 7
2 Sandra Gomez (E - Gas Gas) 5 + 9 = 14
3 Theresa Bauml (D - Beta) 13 + 13 = 26
4 Sarah Bauer (D - Sherco) 10 + 16 = 26
5 Donna FOX (GB - Sherco) (19x0) 16 + 12 = 28
6 Mireia Conde (E - Beta) (18x0) 12 + 16 = 28
7 Sara Trentini (I - Beta) 18 + 11 = 29
8 Maria Giro (E - Montesa) (16x0) 26 + 13 = 39
9 Berta Abellan (E - Beta) (13x0) 19 + 20 = 39
10 Mette Fidje (N - Sherco) 20 + 20 = 40
11 Katy THORPE (GB - Gas Gas) 22 + 25 = 47
12 Ingveig Hakonsen (N - Beta) 23 + 25 = 48
13 Michelle Neukirchen (D - Beta) 31 + 23 = 54
14 Jess BOWN (GB - Scorpa) 29 + 27 = 56
15 Huldeborg Barkved (N - Sherco) 26 + 33 = 59
DAY TWO
1 Emma BRISTOW (GB - Sherco) 2 + 2 = 4
2 Donna FOX (GB - Sherco) 8 + 12 = 20
3 Mireia Conde (E - Beta) (20x0) 15 + 13 = 28
4 Berta Abellan (E - Beta) (19x0) 16 + 12 = 28
5 Becky COOK (GB - TRS) (17x0) 17 + 11 = 28
6 Sandra Gomez (E - Gas Gas) 11 + 17 = 28
7 Theresa Bauml (D - Beta) 14 + 16 = 30
8 Maria Giro (E - Montesa) 21 + 11 = 32
9 Sara Trentini (I - Beta) 19 + 21 = 40
10 Mette Fidje (N - Sherco) 21 + 20 = 41
11 Huldeborg Barkved (N - Sherco) 26 + 16 = 42
12 Sarah Bauer (D - Sherco) 28 + 20 = 48
13 Chloe RICHARDSON (GB - Beta) 21 + 28 = 49
14 Jess BOWN (GB - Scorpa) 28 + 23 = 51
15 Louise ALFORD (GB - Gas Gas) 29 + 23 = 52
SERIES STANDINGS after 4 (of 5) days: 1 Emma BRISTOW 80 points (CHAMPION), 2 Sandra Gomez 55, 3 Becky COOK 48, 4 Abellan 45, 5 Conde 44, 6 Bauml 44, 7 Donna FOX 43, 8 Trentini 27, 9 Katy THORPE 25, 10 Giro 24, 11 Bauer 17, 12 Jess BOWN 16, 13 Hakonsen 15, 14 Fidje 12, 15 Neukirchen 10, 16 Barkved 6, 17 Pekarek 4, 18 Chloe RICHARDSON 4, 19 Louise ALFORD 3, 20 McKinnon 2,...
FINAL ROUND: September 9 – Isola 2000, FRANCE.
