Second win on the spin for Toni Bou in the X-Trial World Championship

Repsol Honda Trial Team’s Catalan rider extends his lead in the X-Trial World
Championship with a triumph at Le Colisée. Gabriel Marcelli posts eighth on his debut with
the team.

It was a mixed bag for the Repsol Honda Trial Team riders as Chalon-sur-Saône made its
debut as a venue in the FIM X-Trial World Championship calendar. Despite the difficulty of
the sections and having struggled throughout, Toni Bou once again treated French fans to a
display of refined technique, clinching another narrow victory to consolidate his position as
leader of the general standings. Gabriel Marcelli finished eighth on his maiden outing with
the Repsol Honda Trial Team after being eliminated in the opening round.
In the first round, all the riders had to negotiate complicated and more technical sections
than those faced in the Nice trial. Toni Bou finished second on his first lap through the
sections, with 11 penalty marks, making the cut for the following round. Gabriel Marcelli,
meanwhile, found himself eliminated. On his debut with the Repsol Honda Trial Team, the
Galician rider, perhaps affected by a lack of experience whilst forced to open round one of
the X-Trial, led to several mistakes that saw him accrue 19 penalty points. In the second
round, Bou conceded just two penalty points after errors in the first and third sections, thus
gaining a direct passport to the final as the best rider of the second round. In the final,
Repsol Honda Trial Team’s Catalan rider once again fought a gritty battle for the win over
arch-rival Adam Raga, although in the end, the minor details were to prove the difference
and hand victory to Toni Bou.
With a clean sweep of victories so far this season, Bou consolidates his position as the
overall leader of the X-Trial World Championship with a tally of 43 points. In Chalon-sur-
Saône, the Repsol Honda Trial Team ace also managed to pick up a bonus point for top spot
in the second round of the trial. Gabriel Marcelli lies eighth in the overall standings on one
point.
The third round of the championship is set to take place this coming Saturday 2 April at the
Madrid Arena (Spain) and will once again feature Gabriel Marcelli alongside Toni Bou. After a
10-year absence from the calendar, the X-Trial World Championship returns to Madrid, a city
in which the Catalan rider from the Repsol Honda Trial Team has previously won five times in
the elite indoor category.

Gabriel Marcelli
I started the trial by opening the sections, which is never easy. Also, I was a bit more nervous
than usual as it was the first trial of the season with the new colours. In section one I already
made a mistake and I think that's why I wasn't focused enough to tackle the following
sections so calmly. It's a pity that I couldn't ride the way I know I could have ridden.

Toni Bou
It was a very good trial for us. I don't think there was that much more difficulty than in Nice,
but it's true that here there were sections that were very slippery and, in particular, there
were a couple of areas that were really make or break. And that's what we did. In round one
I tied with Adam Raga, in the second lap too, and in the final I won by a single point. Raga
didn't make any mistakes, he only failed in the most complicated part of the rodeo, and
that's when I was able to capitalise and take the victory. We have started the championship
very well with the two wins and achieving three of the four possible bonus points, but it is
true that we are all battling hard for this world championship.

Fujinami
In round one, Toni was a bit nervous and he botched the last section when he had enough
time to seal it. To be honest, I think he could have been first in that opening lap, but he is
human too and he makes mistakes. In the second round and in the final, Toni showed his
quality once again. That’s why with trials as complex as this one, Toni Bou has 30 world titles
to his name. Elsewhere, Gabriel was very prepared in the warm-up before the trial, but
when the event got underway he looked like any other rider. He was very nervous. He tried
to enjoy this competition, but he didn't really succeed. We’ll try and work on that over the
coming days. He has a high enough level and I'm sure that he will prove it in the next trial in
Madrid.