The Spanish Indoor Trial Championship 2011 kicked off in Zaragoza with the victory of five-time World Champion Toni Bou and the attendance of thousands of loyal fans who, as every year, attend what is already a must in the calendar of the Fiestas del Pilar that the Aragonese city is experiencing these days.
The premiere of the Championship was joined here by two others: Pol Tarrès as a full-fledged driver and the new regulations, which establish that the footrest in parallel running does not score; So the dispute in this area has been very exciting.
The absence of Jeroni Fajardo, who was not in Zaragoza because he declined the invitation of the organization, gave the opportunity to three junior riders (instead of just two), to participate in the big category: Iván Peydrò, Francesc Moret and Pere Borrellas.
All of them showed that little by little they are making merits to be able to sneak among the usual riders of the Championship, highlighting among them Iván Peydró, who had a great performance and finished fifth, just behind Tarrès, who was fourth.
Madrid’s Alfredo Gómez, who was also making his debut in the Championship, was not too sharp and was eighth.
The pass to the grand final went to Albert Cabestany, Adam Raga and Toni Bou; the latter two having to play for the first position (both finished the first lap without penalty and were tied) during a very tight race in parallel that finally went to Bou.
During the break, the thousands of fans gathered at the Prince Felipe Pavilion in Zaragoza were able to enjoy the acrobatics on the bike of the Aragonese Abel Mustieles, runner-up in the UCI Trial World Championship.
Finally, after a masterful performance and some mistakes attributed to the difficulty of the sections, Toni Bou won the trophy of champion and first leader of the Championship, followed by Raga and Cabestany, who was not as successful as he would have liked in his executions.
The importance of the results obtained today in Zaragoza by the riders is maximum since, As it is a Championship of few events, each of them is lived and has the value of a grand final; and their points can be decisive for the composition of the final podium of the contest.
Toni Bou: “It’s been a long time since I’ve done an indoor trial but I’ve felt in good shape, which is always satisfying. I think the audience has enjoyed it again. On a personal level, it was an important victory because in a championship as short as this one we cannot afford to make any false steps, which in many cases would be irretrievable. So, happy and very motivated.”.
The next event of the season will take place on November 1 in Girona at 7:00 p.m. at the Fontajau Pavilion.
Information and photos: María Vidal
