The 2023 edition of the FIM X-Trial World Championship will begin on February 5 at the Palau Sant Jordi. The best riders in the world, led by the current trial world champion and current leader of the World Championship, Toni Bou, will delight the audience with their riding in the most demanding indoor areas.
Ahead of him will be rivals of the stature of Adam Raga, current runner-up in the X-Trial World Championship, or Jaime Busto, who is making his debut in an official race at the controls of the GASGAS TXT 2023. Gabriel Marcelli, Jeroni Fajardo (wild card), Benoit Bincaz, Matteo Grattarola and Toby Martyn will also be missing.
According to Toni Bou: “I feel competitive and with years ahead of me to continue enjoying and winning, but it’s clear that at 36 you also think about other things. As long as I have fun, and whether I win or not, I will continue to compete and extend this sporting career that I never thought would add so many successes. It will all depend on how much the injuries respect me.”
THE FAVOURITES X-TRIAL BARCELONA
For Toni Bou, the top favourite, the rivals to beat are clear: “Both Adam Raga and Jaime Busto are still two riders to keep an eye on. Jaime’s youth and progression have made him grow a lot in 2022 and he will undoubtedly do even better in 2023. And Adam should never be ruled out of title contention. It’s always there.”
As for Adam Raga: “I started very well in the first two indoor rounds and won a day of the Andorra GP”, he recalls satisfied, “But I had a bump in the middle of the season because of physical problems in my back and arm. I’m getting older and it’s getting harder and harder for me to be physically 100%. I dose my workouts a lot so that I have less risk of injury. Either way, I’m happy with my performance.”
WOMEN'S TROPHY X-TRIAL BARCELONA
The
Women’s Trophy
, with the champion, Emma Bristow, and the Spaniard Berta Abellán as the main figures, will repeat at the Palau Sant Jordi after its applauded performance of the last edition.
The two will face each other in the 3rd Women’s Trophy Barcelona, the only women’s indoor trial race held worldwide.
No one has managed to beat Emma Bristow at the Palau Sant Jordi. Two out of two and undisputed dominance of the Sherco rider in 2021 and 2022, although Berta Abellán has already stated that she is ready to win in Barcelona and also to snatch the number 1 from the British rider in the World Championship.
Bristow, for her part, acknowledges that anything can happen at the Women’s Trophy: “In trials, an unexpected mistake can come at any time, and even more so in an indoor event. The problem for Berta in 2022 was that, as the four sections were quite easy, she had no chance of recovering from the mistake. But she will be fighting for the win on February 5, I have no doubt about that.”
The two best women’s trial riders in the world are advocating for more difficult and spectacular sections. “The level of women’s trial is progressing a lot and this is what needs to be shown,” says Bristow. “I think that by adding some help at certain points we could even complete some of some areas of the boys. The Women’s Trophy has to take a new leap forward with the zones, because that’s where the show is.”
X-TRIAL 2023 CALENDAR
2023 X-Trial World Championship Calendar
- X-TRIAL BARCELONA - SPAIN - 5 February
- x-trial WIENER NEUSTADT - austria - 11 MARCH
- X-Trial Pamplona - Spain - 25 March
- X-trial Bordeaux - FRANCE - 7 April
- x-trial ANDORRA LA VELLA - 7 October
- x-trial MADRID - SPAIN - 4 November
- x-trial tba FRANCE - 11 November
- X-Trial Nations - Reunion Island - FRANCE - 17 November
