Barceloner!
By TMX Archives on 18th Mar 15
Barca boy Bous out on his own with X-Trial title No.9
In front of a packed house, Bou easily won the qualifying round before storming to victory in the final dropping just 10 marks over the seven extreme sections to beat runner-up on the night Jeroni Fajardo (Beta) by 13 marks and title challenger Adam Raga by 15.
Barcelona-boy Bou tied up the title with one round of the six event series still to go, when it all comes to an end this weekend with the final round in Oviedo, Spain.
Raga made a real go of it this year but fading to third on the night gave Bou an unnasailable 21-point series lead.
Had Raga just managed to hold on to second place in Austria it would at least have postponed the inevitable for another week.
Adam took the fight to Toni this year, pushing Bou hard in the opener at Sheffield back in January, before causing a sensation at the third round, in France, when he inflicted the first X-Trial defeat on Bou in 28 events over five years.
Not since 2010 had Toni been beaten and it was also Raga's first X-Trial victory since 2008!
Like a true champ, though, Bou congratulated Raga, shrugged off the disappointment and got straight back to winning in style, in front of his home fans in Barcelona a week last Sunday.
Then another stunning win in Austria saw X-Trial title number nine in the bag.
The nine consecutive Indoor crowns will now be followed by a new campaign to match this with nine World Championship Outdoor titles in a row, as he is currently sitting on eight. That's a record in its own right having topped the seven consecutive titles achieved by Britain's Dougie Lampkin.
Meanwhile, Bou goes to Oviedo this weekend able to showboat for his adoring home fans and celebrate that ninth consecutive X-Trial in style!
Toni has this to say on Saturday night immediately after his victory:
"I'm really very pleased. I had a great race, and the way that Adam has been going lately, I didn't expect to win the title here,” said the Catalan ace. "It was a very tricky and technical race and Jeroni was really sharp today.
"I felt really comfortable in all the sections, and the crowd got really into it too, which is really good for the sport as well.
"It's difficult to reflect on what this title means; nine is a lot, and I never thought that I would be able to win so many.
"The rivals have really battled and made it difficult, which is why it means so much.
"The bike has run like a dream all year and the team has always been up to the job, always supportive, and I'd like to dedicate this victory to them, to my minder Joan Cordón, to my family and friends and everyone who follows me.”
To see the phenomenon that is Toni Bou in the flesh don't forget that the British two-day round of the FIM World Trials Championship takes place early this year on the weekend of June 13/14 at Nord Vue, near Penrith, Cumbria, just 10 minutes from the M6.
You can get your discounted tickets now on www.britishworldtrial.co.uk
