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Earlier this month Motorcycling Australia spoke with 2018 Trial des Nations Australian team member, Kyle Middleton, on his life and experiences overseas. Middleton dished the dirt on what his misses most about home “down under” and what’s been his strangest experience overseas so far!

Where are you currently competing?

I’m in Prague in the Czech Republic where I’ll be competing with my Aussie team mates in the Trial des Nations (TdN).

What’s the hardest thing about adapting to your new country?

I’m lucky that I’ve never had to spend long periods overseas, I’ve always come home regularly and these days I’m at home pretty much all of the time. One of the things I’ve always found hard overseas is that I’m the kind of person who always wants to be getting stuff done quickly (I’m impatient) and when you’re in another country that’s often difficult. You don’t know where places are, you don’t know the culture that well so shops for example can be closed at odd times of the day. I’m always wanting to do something during siesta time in Spain.

What do you miss most about home?

When I’m away I always miss my family and friends as well as my two Jack Russell dogs.

What is your preparation/training regime like?

Pretty hectic! I train five days a week, work full time and also go to university. Monday and Tuesday are university work nights, Wednesday through to Friday I go training after work more or less until dark and then on the weekend I usually do a few hours each day as well. It depends a bit on what events are coming up and how my body feels as to whether I do any off bike training except for stretching. At the moment it’s almost 100% on bike. My girlfriend, Em, is always trying to make sure I have a more varied training regime.

What’s been a highlight for you this year?

The Scottish Six Days Trial was both a highlight and a low light for me this year, it was a great experience and there were a few moments there mid way through the week that I’ll never forget like how much fun I was having and the sights that I was seeing, and then there were other moments when I wished I was anywhere but there. I really learnt a lot about myself in Scotland but mainly I got taught some serious lessons on how no level of preparation can prepare you for the severity of an event like The Scottish Six Days Trial. One of the most important lessons I learnt was that experience is key.

What is your single most motivating force?

Always improving and being the best are absolutely my driving forces, if I’m not doing either of those I really struggle to enjoy myself. I don’t like that I’m that way but it’s true.

Tell us a bit more about what you hope to achieve and what you have already achieved in 2018?

I’ve won the Australian X-Trial Championships & finished the Scottish Six Day Trial with a first class award. The season is really only just warming up so in the next few weeks I’ll have the New South Wales Titles & Australian Titles as well as the TdN where we will be defending our title which we won for the first time ever last year. Hopefully I can repeat last years success at all of these events.

What’s your strangest overseas experience been so far?

One time I was competing in the United States of America (USA) and my minder lost his bike. He came running to the next section all puffed and I was pretty annoyed he had taken so long to get there so I harshly asked him what took so long. He said he couldn’t find his bike and I was like “dude, how do you just lose your bike, where did you park it?”. It turns out that the bike we hired was for sale and a potential buyer thought they could take it for a test ride mid World Championship round. Lets just say that I owed Simon an apology.

Do you have a special message for your fans back home?

Just a huge thanks to all those supporters who have helped the Australian TdN team to get where it is. There’s no way we could have achieved what we have in the last few years without the awesome support from our community and Trials fans.

Favourite thing to do besides motorcycling?

There’s probably not a single thing but I do enjoy gardening, tending to my bees and playing Touch Rugby League with my girlfriend.

Embarrassing fact about you?

I’m a bit of a nerd, I like sci-fi, reading and gardening. I like quite a lot of nerdy things that you wouldn’t expect a motorcyclist to be in to…

Describe yourself in three words

Hairy, Obsessive, tired.

It was a tough weekend for Team Australia at the Trial des Nations in the Czech Republic. The Australian Men’s Team finishing in 6th place for the International Trophy and the Women’s Team finishing in 8th place. The competition was fierce and conditions were tough throughout the weekend. Despite this, the Aussies showed plenty of grit and determination. 
 
Spain stormed to a fantastic fifteenth consecutive FIM Trial des Nations victory at a wet, wild and spectacular Sokolov venue in the Czech Republic with their three-man team of Toni Bou – Repsol Honda and Gas Gas team-mates Jeroni Fajardo and Jaime Busto reigning supreme in the Men’s World Championship category.
 
It was a much closer-fought affair in the Women’s TDN class where, competing alongside the men for the first time in the competition’s rich and illustrious history, Great Britain’s Emma Bristow – Sherco, Donna Fox – Montesa and Jess Brown – Scorpa regained the title they lost last year to Spain.
 
With the best two scores through each section counting towards a country’s result, riders from twenty-three nations faced a mixture of man-made hazards featuring huge boulders and more natural terrain in nearby woods where grip was at a minimum. Day-long torrential rain and plunging temperatures added to the drama and forced organisers to modify the sections as the event became a war of attrition.
 
The Australians noted that the rain and steep hills were far from ideal for them. The effort they put in was unrelenting and showed true Aussie spirit, but the results were not what they were after.
 
The TDN brought a close to the 2018 TrialGP season, and marked the second and yet another successful season with Sport7 at the helm. For a full list of results head to http://trialgp.com/index.php/results/results-standings
 
Motorcycling Australia would like to thank Team Australia Competitors Kyle Middleton, Connor Hogan, Chris Bayles, Kristie McKinnon, Michelle Coleman and Jenna Lupo for their efforts representing Australia on the world stage. MA would also like to thank Team Manager Phil Whittle and minders, Daniel Felton, Jacob Whittle, Hayden Ahrens and Sam Hull.
 
To keep up-to-date with all the happening from the 2018 Trial des Nations, stay tuned to the Motorcycling Australia Website or the Australian Trials Community Facebook page.