On the eve of a new edition of the FIM X-Trial World Championship, the five Permanent Riders or “Championship Riders” of the same have been defined.
They are the great star of the speciality and 12-time World Champion Toni Bou (Repsol Montesa honda), the current World Runner-up Adam Raga (TRS), the Gas Gas rider Jaime Busto, who last year achieved his first victory in a Championship race, and the youngsters Benoit Bincaz (Scorpa) and Miquel Gelabert (Sherco) who last season were the revelations of the speciality finishing fourth and fifth position of the Championship after adding two podiums for the Frenchman and one for the Spaniard.
HOW PERMANENT PILOTS ARE CHOSEN
The criteria defined by the FIM for naming the five permanent riders of the season states that the first three places will correspond to the first three classified from the previous season. They are joined by two more riders who must meet the condition of having participated in any Trial World Championship in the previous year; but the fourth must have a nationality other than the first three, and the fifth must be under 25 years of age.
The five Permanent Riders of the 2019 season starred in an exciting and spectacular campaign in 2018 that generated the enthusiasm of fans and spectators, leading them to establish themselves as the best specialists in the world and the main specialists of X-Trial.
But the second season of the new era of the X-Trial World Championship will be full of surprises with the entry of new riders, who will be invited to participate in the championship and will want to take their opportunity to demonstrate their skills and potential in this spectacular discipline.
FAJARDO OUT OF THE WORLD CUP
With the aforementioned participation system, the main casualty has been the current runner-up in the outdoor trial world championship, Jeroni Fajardo, who in the previous indoor campaign was sixth in the final classification.
His great season has not been enough for the organization to assign him a place in the championship, so the rider from Girona will have to settle for some sporadic participation as a wild card in one of the scheduled dates.
2019 X-TRIAL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR
1) Sun. 20 January Hungary – Budapest
2) Sun. 03 February Spain – Barcelona
3) Sa. 16 February Spain – Bilbao
4) Sa. 23 February Spain – Granada
5) Fri. 08 March France – Marseille
6) TBA March Russia – Moscow
7) Sa. 06 April Costa Rica – San Jose
8) Sa. 27 April Andorra – Andorra la Vella
X-Trial FIM Nations
Vie. 12 April France – Vendée
