Keep An Eye On This Young Trials Rider

I met Grant Memmott briefly at the 2022 Bentonville Bike Fest, where he was competing in the Sport class during the North American Trials Championship (NATC) in June. I only managed to catch a brief glimpse of his riding, but I could tell right away that he had some skills (he does appear in the 2022 NATC highlights video). In fact, Grant took second place in the Sport class in 2022.

In July 2022, Grant competed at the UCI Trials World Youth Games in Wadowice, Poland after raising some money to help offset his travel expenses using GoFundMe. The competition in Europe was stiff, with stronger competition than he had faced previously. However, Grant used this experience drive himself to work even harder than he had before. As a result, Grant showed up at the 2023 Bentonville Bike Fest ready to compete at the Expert level. Even during the pre-competition practice sessions, you could see a marked improvement in skills and confidence. Prior to departing for the Bentonville Bike Fest I was hoping to get some video of Grant’s riding to help showcase his abilities. After watching him practice, my desire to showcase his performance increased.

One of my goals during this year’s Bentonville Bike Fest was to shine a spotlight on some of the younger riders such as Grant and the Farrar brothers. Not only do they deserve some recognition, but they are the future of the sport as well. It’s important that more younger riders like them become involved. It’s also critical to ensure that the current and future riders get the encouragement, recognition, and fulfillment from the sport to maintain motivation and continue riding.

I don’t know about you, but I’m excited to watch the progress of young trials riders like Grant Memmott, the Farrars, and Owen Fields. I remain hopeful that their examples will also motivate and inspire other young people to join the trials community.