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Spain Wins X-Trial of Nations S pain continues its unbeaten streak in the FIM X-Trial of Nations. Toni Bou (Repsol Honda Trial Team) achieved a record- equaling ninth gold, while his teammate Jaime Busto (GasGas) celebrated his fourth, with three of them earned alongside Bou. Rounding out the podium were the host country, France, and Italy. Spain took control of the night in typical fashion; Bou's single- mark score in section two gave them a dominant lead in round one, followed by a perfect round two that sent them to the final as top seeds, where they needed just one more mark to complete a near-perfect night and win by a 10-mark margin. The battle for the podium places, though, was incredibly close-fought right from the start: only one mark separated the bot - tom four in a low-scoring open- ing round. Norway, with Sondre Haga (GasGas) and debutant Jarand-Matias Vold Gundvald- sen (TRRS), impressed in their first run, with three cleans and a seven-mark score, but they fell by the wayside after a scrappy second-round sprint. Great Britain fared well in round two with third, but their duo of Jack Peace (Sherco) Harry Heming - way (Beta) had left themselves with too much work to do, with two dropped marks in the open - ing section of the night ultimately proving costly for them. Italy, with Matteo Grattarola (Beta) and newcomer Francesco Titli (TRRS), was second in round one and held on for a place in the Grand Final, where they met home team France, who survived the tricky first run and ultimately made it comfortably through. For them, Benoit Bincaz on his debut for Electric Motion and Hugo Dufrese (Beta) slipped into third place after section one but recovered to second after a failure for Italy's Titli in section two. Titli nonethe - less walks away with his first medal, Italy's third bronze, while for France it is a fifth silver in the last six editions, a fourth for Bincaz and a first for debutant Dufrese. "I'm very happy to win this title again, especially after so many years without this event being held," said Bou. "Jaime and I worked hard as a team from the start, and we managed to stay calm in the decisive moments. It was a special night in an incred - ible venue, with a spectacular crowd. This victory is very spe- cial, and we are very proud of the work we have done." "As Toni has said, a trial like this one is all about managing pressure, because there are more factors to manage, but with him as a teammate, it is all straightforward," Busto said. Benoit Bincaz said, "We are very happy with second place. The target was to make the podi - um, so to finish second is a great result. It was my first X-Trial with Electric Motion, and that made it tougher, but it went well." CN STANDINGS RNDS 1+2 1. Spain (2 points) 2. France (5 points) 3. Italy (6 points) 4. Great Britain (8 points) 5. Norway (9 points) FINAL STANDINGS 1. Spain (1 point) 2. France (11 points) 3. Italy (14 points) Team Spain, made up of Toni Bou and Jaime Busto (center), won the FIM X-Trial of Nations in France. WIND IN THE P54