Spain continued its remarkable reign at the FIM Trial des Nations, claiming a 22nd consecutive victory in the men’s competition at Arteixo, while Great Britain regained the Women’s title, Norway topped the International Trophy class and Germany emerged victorious in the Challenge des Nations.
Held in the Spanish trial stronghold of Arteixo, the 2026 Trial des Nations was contested across predominantly natural terrain, with a wide wooded valley, massive granite rock formations and increasingly difficult sections testing the world’s best riders. While home advantage may have played a role, Spain’s star-studded line-up of Toni Bou, Gabriel Marcelli and Jaime Busto was once again in a class of its own.
Spain secured its 32nd Trial des Nations victory overall, but the fight for the remaining podium positions proved far more intense. Great Britain’s youthful trio of Harry Hemingway, George Hemingway and Harry Turner held off determined challenges from Italy and France to secure the silver medal for the second year running.
The competition opened with Spain and the French team of Benoit Bincaz, Alex Ferrer and Pablo Echene both clean through the opening two sections. The momentum shifted at section three when Spain added five marks, a total matched by Great Britain, which moved into second place on six. Italy’s experienced line-up of Matteo Grattarola, Francesco Titli and Gianluca Tournour collected seven marks there to sit level with France on eight.
As the sections became more technical and demanding, Spain steadily pulled away. A clean performance through the difficult tenth section contrasted sharply with their rivals, with France adding three marks, Great Britain six and Italy ten. By the halfway point, Spain led on just eight marks lost, 19 clear of Great Britain, while France sat a further 12 behind and Italy trailed on 45.
Rain arrived during the second lap, making grip even more difficult on the slick granite boulders, but Spain only tightened its hold on the event. Despite a higher second-lap total of 19 marks, the defending champions comfortably secured another Trial des Nations crown.
For Galicia native Gabriel Marcelli, victory on home soil made the result even more special.
Marcelli said it was “very special” to win near his home in Galicia, adding that the whole team had worked hard, given “one-hundred per cent” and was “super-happy” with the result.
Great Britain’s young squad, with an average age of under 20, showed impressive maturity to maintain second place. Their second-lap score of 38 gave them a final total of 65, comfortably ahead of Italy, which mounted a strong comeback to edge France by a single mark for bronze.
Britain Returns to the Top in Women’s Competition
After finishing third last year, Great Britain reclaimed the Women’s Trial des Nations title thanks to a line-up featuring returning legend Emma Bristow, alongside Alice Minta and Kaytlyn Adshead.
Bristow, a 10-time TrialGP Women world champion, came out of retirement to strengthen the British squad and played a key role in securing the nation’s 11th Women’s TdN title.
Italy, represented by defending champions Andrea Sofia Rabino, Alessia Bacchetta and Martina Gallieni, provided fierce opposition throughout the day. At the halfway stage of the opening lap, Italy led on two marks lost, two ahead of Great Britain.
Spain’s team of reigning TrialGP Women champion Berta Abellan, Abril Montserrat and Daniela Hernando sat third on 21 marks, while France’s two-rider combination of Alicia Soyer and Margaux Pena remained within striking distance.
The contest remained incredibly close throughout the second lap, with Great Britain reducing the gap to a single mark before the decisive moment came at sections 12 and 13. Italy added nine marks while Britain conceded only one, creating a decisive advantage.
The title still came down to the final hazard, a covered man-made section featuring concrete slabs, giant pipes, rocks and tree stumps. With both teams completing it cleanly, Great Britain secured its third Women’s TdN title in four years.
Reflecting on the victory, Adshead said, “Today has been amazing. We all made mistakes, but we worked hard as a team. It all came down to the last section and we did it.”
Spain finished third on 50 marks, with France fourth and Germany rounding out the top five.
Norway Wins Tight International Trophy Battle
The International Trophy class produced one of the closest contests of the day.
Germany’s team of Paul Reumschussel, Jonathan Heidel and Rodney Bereiter completed the first lap on just one mark lost to lead Norway’s Sondre Haga, Jarand-Matias Vold Gunvaldsen and Jone Sandvik by four marks at halfway.
The situation reversed on lap two as Norway produced the stronger performance, drawing level and ultimately claiming victory on a tie-break to secure its fourth International Trophy title.
Haga admitted the contest became much more dramatic than expected.
“It’s been a great day, although it got way more exciting than we expected,” Haga said. “We had a five on the first lap that set us back and we were lucky it started to rain as that made it easier to make mistakes and we were able to fight back.”
Japan’s team of Shinya Hirohata, Jin Kuroyama and Yohito Takeda completed the podium on 14 marks, ahead of defending champions the United States, represented by Alex Myers, Alex Niederer and Ryon Land.
Team Australia took a gritty ninth place finishe in the International Trophy with Connor Hogan and Ben Walling.
Germany Claims Challenge des Nations Victory
The mixed-gender Challenge des Nations category, now in its fifth season, was won by Germany’s Marco Laure and Magdalena Hubner.
The pair finished on 21 marks, seven clear of Spain’s Oriol Garcia and Queralt Fontdevila, while the Czech Republic’s Tadeas Mikunda and Petra Budinova completed the podium on 42.
Laure credited teamwork for the result, saying it had been “hard work” but that he and Hubner had worked well together and he was delighted with the outcome.
Aussies Jenna Lupo and Mitchell Teale repeated Australia’s ninth place in the international trophy with ninth in the Challenger des Nations
With another Trial des Nations complete, Spain once again stood atop the men’s competition, while Great Britain celebrated a return to glory in the women’s division. Norway and Germany also left Arteixo with gold medals after a day of close competition across all categories.
