Toni Bou - Repsol Honda continued his inexorable march towards an incredible eleventh straight FIM Trial World Championship as Emma Bristow - Sherco kicked off her defense of the FIM Women's Trial World Championship in the best possible way at TrialGP USA at Kingman.
Cheered on by a large, vociferous and knowledgeable crowd, Spanish superstar Bou claimed an amazing ninety-fifth career victory on the opening day of round six of the 2017 series in Arizona to extend his championship lead to twenty-one points while Britain's Bristow took career win number fourteen as she bids to take her fourth consecutive TrialGP Women title.
The high altitude and thirty-degree heat proved challenging for riders although the dry conditions meant the sections plotted on a tree-covered mountainside rode easier than expected and will be stiffened up tomorrow for all but the Trial2 Women class if there is no overnight rain.
In an extremely low-scoring event pinpoint precision was crucial and it was Bou who made the least mistakes to run out a narrow winner from fellow Spaniard Adam Raga - TRRS. With both riders recording clean second laps the Trial was won and lost on the opener with Bou's first lap of just two contrasting favourably with Raga's score of four.
"Today was my day," says Bou. "This place and the fans are incredible and it is a very important victory and a good result for the championship because it was an easy event so any mistake could have been costly."
"I am very happy because it was a very hard race because of how easy it was - the easiest I have had to race lately," said Bou. "We suffered badly; we endured a lot and knew that any mistake could eliminate us. Failure was always possible and in addition, at 2000 metres altitude, the bike doesn‰Ûªt perform as well, making it easier to make mistakes.
"I am happy for how I endured the pressure and for the victory which gives me more points for the championship," Bou continued, "On the other hand, I am disappointed because in such a spectacular place for a trial bike, with incredible support from the fans, they lowered the degree of difficulty of the sections ... A two-point lap and another lap of zero is not very good. For tomorrow hopefully they will have changed many sections..."
