BRISTOW BLASTER
It was a change of discipline for Great Britain’s SuperEnduro World Champion Emma Bristow as she moved to the Sherco trials machine in pursuit of further World Championship glory. In a tough wet competition at the opening round of this year’s WTC she blas
The opening round of this year’s series was played out over ten sections covered three times, based around the Belgian town of Comblain au Pont, in front of an estimated crowd in attendance of 6,000 who braved the conditions. In an incredible display of talent Bristow parted with no marks on her opening lap, staying calm and collected despite the pressure from the other competitors.
Her closest rival was fellow British rider Becky Cook on eight marks lost. At the close of the opening lap the heavens opened and down came the rain, which changed the nature of the hazards for the rest of the event. Protecting the lead she had built up on her first lap it was now time for Bristow to apply the pressure, which she did by further extending her lead as Spain’s Sandra Gomez tried to close the gap on Cook. On the third and final lap, with the conditions in the hazards now very testing with the rocks covered in mud, Bristow again posted a score well in front of her two main rivals as Cook edged out Gomez for the second place on the podium.
Behind the top three positions Italy’s Sara Trentini was locked in her own battle with Britain’s experienced Katy Sunter. It was Trentini’s second-lap score of twelve which would eventually determine the outcome of the result.
Great Britain had five riders in the points with Jess Bown, in her first ever international competition, scoring two points coming home in fourteenth followed by Chloe Richardson, who scored the last point.
The event attracted a very healthy entry of over twenty riders who all wanted to say to the injured Nikita Smith: “Get well soon”.