On The Pegs December 2019 - Volume 4 - Issue 12 | Page 137

On The Pegs
VOL. 4 ISSUE 12 - DECEMBER 2019
137
what I needed to do to beat him and maybe he was better prepared than me,
having said that I was learning all the time and come the end of the season after
having had the feeling of being the championship leader, I wanted more so I
pushed really hard during the off season. I knew I was close but needed some
breathing room between my rivals and to make a real attack on the number one
plate.
With twenty counting days for the first time in history of the FIM Trial
World Championship – it is fair to say that you dominated the 1997 series
with thirteen wins and clinching your maiden title with a round to spare.
How special was that day in the Czech Republic?
I definitely hit the ground running, my team, preparation and my bike felt bril-
liant and it was time to prove to myself that I had what was needed to win the
championship. As the season went on my confidence grew. The penultimate
round in the Czech Republic was a place we had ridden before and I liked the
terrain. I remember just trying to take each section one at a time, which wasn’t
easy even though I was riding great. As we were almost at the end of the final
lap I heard Malcolm Rathmell say to my father how it was going and dad said “I
think we’ve bloody done it!” I think that was the first moment I let myself believe
I nearly had achieved a lifelong dream. The last section was in the town centre
and I could hardly concentrate, but as I rode through the end cards to be met
by my parents and cousin John I knew the job was done and our emotions got
the better of us. I had followed in my father’s footsteps and also become a World
Champion.
Your absolute domination of the 1998 / 1999 / 2000 / 2001 championships
was of the likes never seen before – what was at the core of that period of
unrivalled success and did winning feel easy during these years?
My ambition was to be the best and become World Champion and had pushed
myself to the limit. When you’re number one there is only one place to go and
that’s down. I didn’t like the sound of that so I didn’t have any time off and got
stuck into my training to be as best prepared as possible. I remember doing
interviews before events and getting questions like “who do you think can fin-
ish second today?” I hated that, but it just showed that if I rode the best I could
then no one could beat me and that made me train harder. Looking back when
I finished winning the championship, I realised that even though you think that
your giving 100% there is always more available and that was the difference in