Theregulations that have governed the current Spanish Trial Championship and the COTA, called Openfree, designed to facilitate the progression of all riders with projection and that each rider independently estimates the level of difficulty, has raised more detractors than friends.
Text by David Quer and David Darnés. Photos by David Darnés / press releases.
The search for solutions to the situation of the Spanish Trial Championship was inevitable, especially taking into account that the popularity of this sport was inversely proportional to the international successes of our riders, knowing that we also have the best quarry in the world and the National Trial represents a competition of very recognized international prestige. To the point that many know him as “El Mundialito”. Although at first the FIM was studying the implementation of the “Dynamic Trial”, which is a regulation developed from the classic “Non Stop”, in Spain they worked on a much more elaborate alternative that was approved for the 2010 National Outdoor Championship: The Openfree.
While the “Dynamic Trial” aims to eliminate any type of rider stop in the area and lower the level of the same in order to favor the arrival of new riders, the Openfree wants to encourage the approach of the quarry through more logical ways. Obviously, the top riders don’t want to hear about lower level areas, as this means greater equality between the main contenders for victory and it would be very difficult to overcome the slightest mistake. In a way, it gives rise to a loss of importance in technical brilliance and other values, such as concentration or luck, would take precedence. In addition, any system based on the “Non Stop” ends up being controversial, since leaving to the mercy of the zone judge the decision of whether a rider should be penalized for stopping the progress of the bike in the zone, whether of half a second or five, would lead to problems and confrontations. Therefore, it is much better to propose practical solutions that, in addition to being measurable and viable at a logistical level, manage to give the expected boost to the national trial.
