Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1507502
Who Else But Spain At The Trials des Nations? S pain swept to a 19th con- secutive men's victory at the 2023 FIM Trial des Nations (TdN), staged this year high up in the French Alps at the ski resort of Auron, September 9-10. But their hopes of doubling up in the women's category were thwarted due to a polished performance by the British ladies, who re- gained the title they last won in 2018. The Japanese team claimed a popular win in the FIM International Trophy, and Norway came out on top in the FIM Chal- lenge des Nations for two-rider, male/female teams. Team USA fielded a team in the Internation- al category and just missed out on the podium. With imposing rocks and steep, loose climbs challeng- ing the field over two laps of 15 sections, the heat and altitude— Auron is 5500 feet above sea level—combined to test the skill and physical fitness of the best trials riders on the planet. The Spanish men's victory, now 29 in all, hardly came as a surprise. The dominant force since 2004 in the annual com - petition to decide the world's leading trial nation, this year Spain fielded Toni Bou (Mon- tesa), Jaime Busto (GasGas) and event newcomer Gabriel Marcelli (Montesa)—the top three riders in the premier TrialGP class of the 2023 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship—and the talented trio did not disappoint. With a team's best two scores in each section counting, Spain's biggest test on the opening lap came on the huge rock steps of section nine, where they col - lected a 10-mark maximum, but every other nation also failed to reach the ends cards here, so it WIND IN THE P44 Team Spain, made up of Jaime Busto (2), Toni Bou (1) and Gabriel Marcelli (3), won the Trial des Nations for the 19th consecutive time.