We shared a morning of trial and subsequent chat with Oriol Noguera, former TrialGP rider and current backpacker of David Avendaño, Trial2 rider at the controls of a TRRS One RR.
Born on February 13, 1996, he began his sports career in 2004. He has participated in the championships of Catalonia, Spain and the world of trial, winning four times the Catalan champion and the Spanish champion once in lower categories.
In 2011 he won the Spanish Junior Championship with a Sherco and then went through the JTG and Ossa teams. In 2013, at the age of 17, he made his debut in the Junior Trial World Championship. At the beginning of 2014 he switched to Montesa, riding a Cota 4RT and that same year he already achieved some podiums in international youth competitions, such as third place in the World Championship in Corsica.
Subsequently, he continued to compete successfully in the junior, Spanish and Catalan world championships, now in the highest category. In 2019 he ended his career as a professional trial rider due to personal reasons and lack of support.
"To be able to earn a living and cover the expenses of racing a world championship and some other competitions, a rider needs at least a budget of €50,000"
HOW DO YOU FIND THE FIRST SUPPORTS TO START COMPETING IN TRIAL?
It’s hard, and even more so now. At first, you pay for everything in the family, but if things start to go well, the calendar is more intense and the trips longer, especially if you do international competitions.
Brands at that point can start helping you with bikes or spare parts. In my case it was thanks to the support of the RFME with the structure of the national team.
WHEN DID YOU GET YOUR FIRST TRIAL SALARY?
When I had it, I was already racing in the top category. Actually, this salary was used to cover expenses, go to training and so on. But not to make a living from it. This was when I started with the MRW team and the Montesa Cota 4RT.
In the second year, already with GasGas and MRW, I had improved conditions and I could have an independent life with this salary.
WHO PAYS FOR THE BACKPACKER AND MECHANICS?
Each driver has his contract and it depends. With MRW I already had my backpacker and mechanic, in addition to my salary. This was also the case in Jotagas.
There are drivers who receive the money, about €30,000 or €40,000 and from there you have to manage all the expenses: gas, backpacking, racing…
HOW MUCH DOES A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP RIDER HAVE TO EARN TO BE ABLE TO MAKE A LIVING FROM TRIALS?
To be able to race the world championship and also have a salary, I estimate that the budget is around €50,000. Although it all depends on the additional long-running or national competitions you want to add to your race calendar.
HOW DO YOU GO FROM HAVING A CONTRACT TO LEAVING THE WORLD CUP?
Contracts are usually for one year, two years at most. You’re always thinking about what’s going to happen next year and sometimes you lose focus on what’s going to happen.
In my case I had a bad season, with problems on the bike and I didn’t end up going well on the bike, nor was I focused on the races. That demotivated me a lot and things didn’t go well.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO HAVE A BIKE THAT WAS DIFFERENT FROM THE REST, LIKE THE JOTAGAS?
It was an interesting challenge, as I was tailoring the bike to me. However, things were not done, in my opinion, as they should have been.
Regarding having a teammate, references are not always useful, because drivers have different driving styles.
WHY DO YOUNG DRIVERS HAVE SUCH A HARD TIME CATCHING UP WITH THE OLDER “TOPS”?
I wonder too. When you’re running you see that you never get there, you’re always far away. It’s as if they’ve worked since they were four years old, it’s in their blood. When you see Toni, for example, under pressure, he almost never fails; On the other hand, the opposite is probably true for us.
WHICH RIDER DO YOU SEE WITH THE POTENTIAL TO FIGHT FOR A WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP?
I don’t see Toni capable of winning a title, at least if they don’t hurt themselves. Rivals can fight him, but I don’t think it’s as much as beating him.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE XTRIAL?
I really like indoors, although I’ve never been called up to an X-Trial. Here you can push harder at the competition level, but I think Toni will continue to win.
YOU’VE BEEN A RIDER FOR OSSA, JOTAGAS, MONTESA, GASGAS AND NOW YOU’RE GOING WITH TRRS. WHICH BIKE HAVE MARKED YOU THE MOST?
I really like the TRRS I wear now and it goes well for everything. When I was riding the Montesa in TR2 I was doing very well on that bike because of traction and stability, despite the extra weight. The Ossa to climb big steps was great. The Jotagas wasn’t a bike I disliked, but it lacked quality.
