VOL. 54 ISSUE 36 SEPTEMBER 12, 2017 P37
BOU CHAMP AGAIN
T
oni Bou of the Repsol Hon-
da Team clinched the 2017
FIM Trial World Championship
and claimed an unparalleled 11th
straight title at the September
10 TrialGP Czech Republic, the
penultimate round of this year's
series.
Despite finishing second at
the Czech TrialGP, the 30-year-
old from Barcelona proved he
truly is the most dominant rider
in the history of World Trials. But
not to be outshined was Adam
Raga (TRRS), who came out on
top at Sokolov. Raga hopes to
finish out the season strong with
another round at next week-
end's TrialGP Italy.
Raga drew on his two de-
cades of experience of Trial
at the very highest level, and de-
spite a maximum score on the
final section, he took his sec-
ond win of the season, his total
of 36 giving him a surprisingly
comfortable winning margin of
17 over Bou.
"I'm very happy," says Raga,
"especially because it has been
one of the most difficult events
of the year. Conditions were
very slippery so it has shown
the level I am at and I feel very
proud to win."
Not having won on the day
wasn't pleasing for Bou, but
clinching the title made the loss
a lot easier to swallow.
"Today was a complicated
day from the beginning," Bou
said. "I battled to win the trial
but today was not to be, al-
though the aim today had been
to get the title. I am very happy
despite several issues. The wet
terrain we found today is not
really the one I like the most, or
one that favors the bike best,
but we fought hard to finish on
the podium. This season has
been a very good one, the first
victory in Camprodón and the
two in Japan where Adam Raga
lost points have been important,
as well as the two victories in
the United States." CN
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
HONDA
HRC
Toni Bou captured his 11th-straight TrialGP title.
Combined with his indoor titles, he has amassed
an astounding 22 world championships.
