Miquel Gelabert
In life you take notice of things that catch your eye quite by accident, and Spain’s Miquel Gelabert was one of those things. In the motorcycle sport of trials I have witnessed a lot of young talented riders come through the national championships with so
On day one of the 2016 FIM World Championships the opening hazard at Cal Rosal in Spain was a man-made jumble of rocks. The majority of the entry made a safe passage with the big rocks, taking just the odd five-mark penalty, before a clatter of machine and rider on the rocks witnessed Miquel Gelabert crash off the opening step. Was he about to fail at the final hurdle in the TrialGP class? As you will soon find out this is most certainly not the case, as Trial Magazine caught up with the eighteen-year-old at the close of the season.
What were your thoughts at the very moment you took the nasty trip over the handlebars at the opening hazard in Spain?
I was very nervous as it was the opening round of the 2016 series and the crowds were all at the opening hazard where I was about to start my TrialGP career. I wanted to do very well at the opening round to demonstrate to all these supporters what I was capable of. This was my first step into the TrialGP class but I soon pushed this early failure on the first hazard out of my mind and moved on. I knew all along the first year would be very tough.
Can you take us back to the start of this adventure and tell us about your introduction to motorcycle trials.
I started to ride a motorcycle when I was six years old; it was not a trials motorcycle but a motocross one. The reason for this is because when I saw a motocross machine on the television I got excited and my parents witnessed my reaction. That Christmas Santa gave me a 50cc motocross machine, and with that I was away and into the hills a very happy child! After that I went to a trials camp and one of my teachers had a trials motorcycle that I rode with him because I was too young to ride on my own. Even before getting off the trials motorcycle I was already saying to my father that I wanted one of those machines. A few days later my father arrived at home with the Gas Gas TXT Boy for me! Suddenly I fell in love with the Gas Gas and I started training every day.
As a young person were you attracted to any other sports?
Since the very beginning I had the thought in my mind that I wanted to be a trials world champion, and for this reason I would spend all the time of my young life improving my riding, letting nothing get in my way because I was training.
My parents have been the best, supporting me to keep me focused on trials but not leave my school work behind. They made me understand that the school work is also important in case one day this dream of my life of trials comes to an end. I attended school right up until last year and now I follow school classes online so that I can train longer and be more relaxed with the school work.
On a separate note, I have three brothers but only one shares the same passion as me. He has progressed through the Youth classes and so next year he will ride the Trial2 world championship class, and I can tell you that he will do very well next year.
Do you remember the early days?
Yes I do remember my first training sessions with my father, just learning to turn and then ride little hills and maintain more balance with the machine static. I spent every minute of every hour I could on the trials motorcycle. These were fantastic times with my father. My heroes when I started riding were Adam Raga, Jeroni Fajardo and of course Toni Bou. Now it’s a pleasure to be competing in the same class as them.
How old were you when you rode in your first competition, what class was it?
I was eight years old and it was very bad experience for me, that bad I still remember it like it was yesterday. I was simply not good enough for the hazards and it was raining, it was chaos… I never gave up despite a tough day, which is why I will never give up the fight until I have finished the final hazard in a competition. I was riding the Gas Gas TXT Boy 50cc and it was destroyed due to so many crashes!
Tell us about your progress to the world championship
I have never competed in the 125 Cup class, as I was 16 years old and so I went straight into the Trial2 class. Due to the expense, I only rode in the European rounds and missed the ones further away outside Europe. It wasn’t a bad year as I finished eighth overall, and my best result was second at the last round in Arnedo in Spain after leading for the first two laps. The final result of my second year in the Trial2 class was very difficult to accept because I had the same number of points as the winner of the championship but he beat me due to having more victories than me. Once I had analysed that result and tried to find the mistakes I had made I became mentally stronger, and this gave me the extra motivation to keep pushing towards being ready for the 2016 season.
At the beginning of the 2016 world championship, I didn’t ride very well as I wasn’t accustomed to the ‘Pro’ class and I incurred many fives. I kept pushing though, and at the German GP I started riding at the best I could and showing my true level of riding, and slowly I began to enjoy myself. Slowly I started to gain my confidence and feel more accepted in the TrialGP class, which was reflected in my improved results. For example, on the second day in Andorra I ended up in seventh position, but very close to the sixth placed rider Fujinami with only four marks between us. This has been my best result but I hope to improve on this next year.
When did the Spanish Federation start to help you?
I will always be always grateful to RFME for trusting in me when I was no-one, when I had no decent results to show. Without their support nothing that I have achieved could have been possible. I started to ride for the RFME team in 2014, and since then they have given me all that I needed. Next year I will be at the Sherco factory truck, which makes me very happy.
You competed in the Junior class, as it was called, before Trial2 in 2014 finishing eighth overall. How difficult were the hazards?
2014 was very strange for me because I my riding standard was better than the results showed. I should have done much better than I did and I’m sure that happened because it was my first year. I was too nervous at the events and I fived the easier sections where it’s important to be 100% focused. Slowly I started to gain my confidence and every time I was closer to the podium, and finally at the last event of the championship I finished in second position, only two marks behind Jaime Busto. Jaime won the world championship after winning most of the events; he helped me to be a little more consistent with my riding and we became good friends.
For the 2015 Trial2 championship you were considered as favourite to win it. If I remember correctly it was a very close championship?
Correct; I was fighting until the last day of the last section of the last event to take the championship, but in the end I didn’t win. This was a bad moment for me; not for finishing second, but because I had the same points as the winner Quentin Carles from France but he won on the tie decider because he had more wins. It was a long and difficult championship, but not because of the difficulty of the sections as they were easy but there were lots of them, which was the problem. The most difficult thing last year was to know how to manage the pressure of the event because you couldn’t afford to lose any marks anywhere. As well as Quentin, Iwan Roberts was also very, very strong especially at the start of the championship as he won three of the first four rounds in a row.
Had you already made the decision to move into the TrialGP class whether you won the Trial2 class or not?
Yes, I spoke with my parents and I thought that staying another year in Trial2 was a waste of time. We also thought that being in the TrialGP class would be a more positive step, and I think I have defended that decision well. I was supported by the RFME and Sherco with this decision, and so they let me move into the TrialGP class for 2016.
What changes so much when you move into the TrialGP class?
First you must be 100% convinced that you have made the correct decision to move into this class because the difference between Trial2 and TrialGP is big; the hazards aren’t dangerous, but all of them are very technical and difficult. An important thing for me when I’m training is that I need to ride the machine slowly and smoothly, thinking all the time what I need do and how I’m working on it during the session so that I can apply it at the competition. If I don’t practice like this my chances of failure are high.
You scored points in every round to finish tenth overall, you must be happy with this?
Yes I am really happy with my year, as before the start of the 2016 season my goals were to win the European championship and finish in the top ten. Now the world championship and European championships are over with my personal goals achieved. Even better was my best finishing position in Andorra, climbing up to seventh position overall. Pre-season 2017 I will train a lot more so I can fight with the big boys during the year.
The hard work has been rewarded with a factory supported ride with Sherco. How much will this help you to progress towards the top five?
I’m very grateful to be in the Sherco Factory Team as I think having a factory behind me now will help me work better and improve my level to be more competitive next year. I am not sure about the top five, maybe it’s a little bit hasty, but we will fight for it and nothing is impossible if we work in the right direction. I’m also grateful to the Spanish Federation and Sherco for supporting me this season, as without them I couldn’t have taken part in the world championship.
What are your goals for 2017?
My goals for 2017 are to be closer to the top riders at every event, and if possible to finish in the top five wherever I can, but I don’t know how it will be next year. Perhaps I can be ready to fight for the top five overall but this is very difficult, as we have seen with Jaime Busto. A very talented young rider, he has fought for the top three all season but couldn’t achieve it because the ‘older’ riders have more experience than us and that’s an important factor to take into account.