Following yesterday’s surprise defeats for 15-time TrialGP champion, Toni Bou normal service was resumed on day two of the TrialGP of Andorra.
As we’ve seen so many times before, when the going gets tough then Bou gets going. Following his worst start to a championship since 2018 the Spaniard was back in the driving seat at the second round of the 2022 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship – staged high in the Pyrenees around the scenic town of Sant Julià de Lòria. The win also marks Bou’s 200th Trial World Championship win (indoor and outdoor)!
With the temperature slightly cooler than yesterday, a couple of maximums on his opening lap – including one on section four’s fearsome step set into an ultra-loose, super-steep hillside – were early setbacks but his rivals were also struggling and the 35-year-old’s total of 12 gave him a lead of three from his countryman Jaime Busto (Vertigo) at the halfway stage.
Another maximum on section four at his second attempt didn’t appear to phase Bou in the slightest and he dropped just one further mark as he cruised home a clear winner to claim an amazing 200th combined TrialGP and X-Trial win.
“I’m very happy with how the day went,” Bou said. “Yesterday was a tough trial but today was too and we have been able to snatch a very important win towards the championship. In addition, achieving my 200th world championship win here in Andorra, including indoor and outdoor, makes it all the more thrilling. We have to be realistic – taking a first and a second position in a world championship weekend is positive, as it was in l’Hospitalet de l’Infant. I think my numbers are very good: we are not used to finishing second, but when we do it feels like a disaster, which it isn’t. I always say that it’s important to keep your feet on the ground, because coming here level on points and coming away from Andorra 11 points ahead of the runner-up is very positive. I would have liked to have won yesterday, but realistically, I made some mistakes, as we did today, but we managed to overcome them, so I’m pleased with the weekend.”
Following his winning performance yesterday, Adam Raga was off the pace after his opening lap but he pulled it together on lap two to end the day 10 behind Bou in second which gives him second in the championship chase.
Jeroni Fajardo made it two third-placed finishes in a row with a total of 30, three ahead of Busto and four in front of Italy’s Matteo Grattarola.
The best trial riders on the planet now have a three-week break before round three of the 2022 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship – the TrialGP of Germany – on July 8-10 in Neunkirchen.
