IN
THE
WIND
P44
Bou Wins French TrialGP
H
eavy rain over the weekend
ensured that conditions
were treacherous at Charade for
the first French TrialGP of the
season, July 4, with mud getting
dragged onto the imposing rocks
that formed the predominantly
man-made sections. The French
TrialGP was the third round of the
2021 FIM TrialGP Championship.
Repsol Honda Team rider Toni
Bou came away with the victory
for his 120th career Trial World
Championship win.
The opening lap of 12 sections
proved to be expensive for the
14-time champion, Bou, but the
Spaniard still led at the halfway
mark—despite a maximum on the
super-tough, natural section on
the face of a cliff—on a total of 19,
two clear of Italy's Matteo Grat-
tarola (Beta) and a comfortable
21 marks ahead of his compatriot
Adam Raga (TRRS).
Both Spanish riders upped
their game on lap two to part
with a miserly five marks apiece,
as Bou increased his champi-
onship lead and Raga hunted
down Grattarola only to lose out
on a tie-break to the 2020 Trial2
champion.
"This victory is very important,"
said Bou. "My feeling today on
the second lap was incredible,
and it's great to now be 10 points
ahead of Adam (in the champi-
onship). It's been a very good
weekend for me."
The rejuvenated Japanese vet-
eran Takahisa Fujinami (Repsol
Honda)—winner last time out in
Italy—was just four marks adrift in
fourth as Miquel Gelabert (Gas-
Gas) completed the top five.
After trading wins with return-
ing trial legend Laia Sanz (Gas-
Gas) at the opening round in Italy
last month, Emma Bristow had a
point to prove in France and the
British rider—who's lining up her
eighth-straight TrialGP Women
title this season—came out swing-
ing.
Seven clear of the 13-time
champion after lap one, Bristow
rode with her head on the sec-
ond circuit to end the day with a
six-mark advantage as Sanz over-
took her fellow Spaniard Berta
Abellan (Vertigo) to claim second
with Spain's Sandra Gomez
(TRRS) and Norway's Ingveig Ha-
konsen (TRRS) finishing a distant
fourth and fifth.
The action now resumes with
the Andorran TrialGP on August
20-22. For regular updates and
live results check out our social
media platforms on Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram – just
search for TrialGP.
CN
PRO
1. Toni Bou (Mon)
2. Matteo Grattarola (Bet)
3. Adam Raga (TRS)
4. Takahisa Fujinami (Mon)
5. Miquel Galabert (GG)
6. Jorge Casales (GG)
7. Jeroni Fajardo (She)
8. Jaime Busto (Ver)
9. Gabriel Marcelli (Mon)
10. Dan Peace (She)
Toni Bou dominated the French
TrialGP, finishing more than 20
points clear of the next-best rider.
