[News]

Kyle Middleton 2018 Trials Champion

5 years ago | Words: Russell Colvin | Photos: Russell Colvin

He came, he saw, he conquered. 28-year-old Kyle Middleton once again has re-written the history books by becoming the first rider to win six straight Australian Solo Championships, after he crushed his rivals at the 2018 Delecca’s Australian Trial Championship at Sedgwick in Victoria. After scoring 14-points on Saturday, the New South Welshman went on to score 25-points on Sunday, which saw him finish on top of the points tally with just 39-points to his name.

Dominating the competition over the weekend, Middleton proved that he is in fact still human, suffering from fatigue on Sunday thanks to his display of unmatched skill and perseverance on Saturday. “The body simply didn’t feel right today,” said Middleton at the conclusion of Sunday’s race. Middleton came into the weekend with a fair bit of self-doubt due to returning from the year’s Scottish Six Day Trial back in May with a lot of injuries. This doubt clearly began to impact Middleton‘s confidence where bad sections damaged his overall score for the weekend.

Since returning from the 2018 Scottish Six Day Trial, Middleton has really struggled with his injuries and returning to peak form. The struggle in overcoming his newfound injuries caused Middleton to seriously consider whether he would be physically capable of competing in the 2018 Australian Trial Championship.

“I guess all the stress was for nothing, because I rode fairly well this weekend,” expressed Middleton, who rates his sixth championship as his best, purely because it has been the hardest to win. I came into this weekend with a bit of self-doubt, however, once I got halfway through the first lap on Saturday I understood that I was riding quite well. To be able to win this year’s championship is a great feeling, but most of all it’s a massive relief,” added MiddletonMiddleton has declared that he will be back in 2019 to try and defend his championship, and hopefully make it a seventh straight title. “As next year’s championship will be held in Tasmania, for sure Chris [Bayles] will be a tough person to beat, we will be riding in his ‘own backyard’. Hopefully in the off-season I’ll take a bit of time off and try and get my body right. If we do that, we should be more than fine,” concluded Middleton.

66-points off Middleton in second place was young gun, Connor Hogan, who continues to impress, proving that he is a future star of the sport. Just three points off Hogan was the 38-year-old, Colin Zarczynski. Chris Bayles and Bruce Le Riche rounded out the top 5. Kristie McKinnon kept her fine form going into the second day of racing by racking up a total of just 6-points for the day, which saw finishing with a grand total of 14-points and her ninth Australian Championship in the Women’s category! Michelle Coleman finished second to McKinnon on 73-points, while Lillie Yiatrou finished third on a count back with Nicole Casey, as Yiatrou got 14 cleans to Casey’s 13.
Completing the top five respectfully was Jenna Lupo with 159-points.

Taking out the Junior 12 – under 16 Championship was Tom Woodhouse, which marks his first ever national championship. Finishing in second and third was Alex Cowan and Maverick Ford, with Haydon Barwick and Rhys Dundon completing the top five.

For full details on the overall championship, head to the MA website.

Results

Solo
1st Kyle MIDDLETON 39
2nd Connor HOGAN 105
3rd Colin ZARCZYNSKI 108
4th Chris BAYLES 131
5th Bruce LE RICHE 140

Women
1st Kristie MCKINNON 14
2nd Michelle COLEMAN 73
3rd Lillie YIATROU 129
4th Nicole CASEY 129
5th Jenna LUPO 159

Junior 12 – under 16
1st Tom WOODHOUSE 35
2nd Alex COWAN 46
3rd Maverick FORD 55
4th Haydon BARWICK 59
5th Rhys DUNDON 75

Be the first to comment...

You might also like...

1 month ago

BAJA 1000: ‘BEYOND THE LINE’

‘Beyond the Line’: a cool, bite-sized insight to the iconic annual Baja 1000 race.

1 month ago

HOW-TO: REPLACE YOUR GRAPHICS – PROPERLY!

The six key steps involved in replacing your bike’s old, worn graphics.

News

1 month ago

Entries Open: 2024 Transmoto 8-Hour at Narrabri, NSW

Public entries are now open for the third annual Transmoto 10-Hour at Tumut, powered by GASGAS, to be held on the March 16-17 weekend.

1 month ago

GIFT A MATE – AMA SUPERMOTOCROSS VIDEO PASS

Buy your mate an exclusive ticket to watching AMA SX outside of the USA.

1 month ago

HOW-TO: CHAIN & SPROCKET REPLACEMENT

We walk you through the 10 key steps that’ll ensure your bike’s chain and sprocket are doing their job properly.

Royal Enfield

2 months ago

ROYAL ENFIELD’S HIMALAYAN 450 – FAQS ANSWERED

We answer your most FAQs about Royal Enfield’s landmark new Himalayan 450 adventure tourer.

2 months ago

HOW-TO: HANDLEBAR CONTROLS SET-UP

Eight simple steps to help you declutter, service and update your bike’s handlebar-mounted controls.

2 months ago

HOW-TO: FOOT-CONTROL SET-UP

Five simple steps to help you get your footpegs, rear brake pedal and gear-shift lever properly adjusted.