A REWARDING SEASON

When you start to look at the 2014 world championships and the two-wheeled achievements from British riders, Emma Bristow stands proudly amongst her male counterparts as double champion in the Ladies’ disciplines. What’s interesting is the fact that the two world titles, whilst both on motorcycles, are literally miles apart as one is in Trials and the other SuperEnduro. Emma, as a professional athlete, has the full support of the Sherco factory behind her and, as you will see as you read on, it has been a very rewarding season for both parties. Did you ever consider a career on two wheels as a child? I grew up in a farm environment and so with large expanses of ground to ride on I found my way to a Yamaha PW50 at a very early age. I loved the feeling of freedom which allowed me to explore and join in the fun with all the boys in the family. I became interested in trials when I was around four years old and I was always excited to ride at the weekends. As I grew up I started to contest the Youth British Championships, taking four titles in the different categories before I moved into the adult classes. Did you find it tough riding against your male counterparts in the adults? When I was younger I found it intimidating as they always seemed to improve and pick up techniques quicker than me. Now I relish the challenge as it allows me to enjoy my riding on a higher level of sections, which is totally different to Ladies’ trials. I now find it one of the best ways to improve my own riding level. When did you move into the World Championships? It seems like a long time ago but it was actually only in 2006, when I came 13th, and then in 2007 I was 14th as I was too young to participate in the Isle of Man round. I progressed to 6th position in both 2008 and 2009 and then to 4th in 2010. In 2011 I moved to the new Ossa team and progressed to 2nd, which I then repeated in 2012. How did the move to Sherco in 2013 come about? I had ridden with both Gas Gas and Ossa, who I am eternally thankful to for the support they gave me, but with Sherco I was given the boost and team support that I needed. Both the Sherco boss Marc Tessier and the UK importers Malcolm Rathmell Sport gave me the confidence to move my riding to another level. In 2013 you again finished second when you looked to set to take the win. I felt very confident on the Sherco and arrived much improved on the previous year. The championship went down to an exciting finale but unfortunately didn’t go my way that year. You only count the best three scores from the five rounds? That’s correct – and I think this rule