Gabriel Marcelli arrived at the official Repsol Honda Team in 2022, with a lot of learning ahead of him. In 2023 important results have already been demanded of him and he has shown that he can be regularly on the podium positions, aspiring to victory with guarantees.
Marcelli faces a very demanding 2024, where it is expected that he will be able to fight alongside his teammate for victory in all competitions, including regularity in the fight for the national title, TrialGP and XTrial
START OF THE 2024 SEASON
Q: Now you come from a month of break, how do you prepare physically and mentally for the start of the new season?
R: “Mentally, something that helps me a lot is to go to Galicia and be with my family and my lifelong friends. That helps me a lot to disconnect and recharge batteries to come back much stronger. Physically, it is true that I have had to undergo an operation on my hand, so I have not been able to prepare so much for this January 2024, but until the start of the championship I have time. Now I’m going to follow a training plan similar to 2023, training with a motorcycle in the mornings and in the gym in the afternoons. Last year it worked for me, so I hope that this year, polishing some details, I will do just as well.”
At the beginning of 2023 you had a knee injury that conditioned you the first months of competition. How do you manage it mentally?
“The problem I had in my knee last year, and that I still have, conditioned me a lot last season. Mentally it is complicated because your level drops both in the zones and in training, basically in every way. Knowing that months ago you were stronger and having to go back is not easy. I think it’s more important to be strong mentally than physically.”
In the last rounds of 2023 you have scored several consecutive podiums and have been third in X-Trial, TrialGP and CET, what is your assessment of the season?
“I’m very happy with how the 2023 season ended: in the last rounds I was very close to victory. It was a very positive season, in which I competed at a very high level and, despite the injury, I managed to be consistent and consistent. Now that I’m better physically, I think that in 2024 I can take another step.”
FIGHT FOR THE TITLE IN 2024
And what do you think you can improve on for 2024?
“One of the things we can improve for 2024 is physically, in terms of being free of injuries and I can have a better preparation with more hours on the bike. Last year I had tests that I went to practically without training, so I made mistakes because I wasn’t strong enough. I am aware that, if I had not suffered that injury, the position in the overall championship would have changed. So hopefully I can be later in this new season.”
It’s your third year in the Repsol Honda Trial Team, what has changed compared to your first year with them? Do you feel more pressure after the results achieved in 2023?
“This 2024 is already my third year in the team. 2022 was my first year and I hardly felt any pressure, but in 2023 some results were already demanded of me, and although the season went very well, we want more. For this 2024 I notice that expectations are high… I know that being off the podium at any event is going to be considered a bad result. I would even say that third places are going to be little. So nothing, we will have to do very well in all the tests to try not to get off the podium and try to be as far ahead as possible”.
You also share a team with the most successful rider in the history of the Trial world, what is it like to work with Toni Bou?
“Working with Toni is easy because he never holds back when it comes to giving advice. He is very humble and hardworking, he always wants to train, and if he does it with other riders, all the better. We train a lot together and that helps me a lot to evolve and to be a better rider year after year. In the end, having him as a teammate and as your first objective makes you challenge yourself and make you aware that there are steps that are possible. Also, the bike is the same, so I have no excuses not to do what he achieves. Obviously, it’s a motivation for me to be his teammate.”
After the great performance you made in Madrid and Vendée, where you came close to victory, I imagine that you arrive very motivated to the first X-Trial round that is also run at home, right?
“Without a doubt I arrive very motivated to the Barcelona event, I would have liked Barcelona to be just the week after Vendée because I think I was at a very good level. I don’t know if this break has helped me or not, but I arrive with my batteries charged. There are still things to be outlined, which I think are the ones that can give me the victory, which in the end is my goal for the Barcelona event.”
Looking at what you’ve achieved over the past season, what are your goals for 2024?
“The objectives for this 2024 are to win both indoor and outdoor World Cup events, take the Spanish Championship and at the end of the season take the runner-up in both disciplines. These are ambitious goals, but I think they are realistic. I have the level to fight with Toni for victory and win races, which will make me achieve the goal of the runner-up position and, why not, maybe a world championship”.
What would you like to see as your best moment of 2024?
“The happiest moment of 2024 I would like to be lifting the medal on the podium of the general classification. Because it is at the moment that the work that is done throughout the season is reflected, where you see everything you have achieved, that is the most satisfying moment of the year”.
