has added his 60th World Cup victory at the Belgian GP, thus increasing the lead at the top of the provisional standings to four points against Raga, his main rival and great threat to the renewal of the crown. The third step on the podium went to Albert Cabestany, who consolidates this same position in the provisional classification.
Belgium, a country with a great trial tradition and the birthplace of great riders such as Eddy Lejeune, returned to the World Championship calendar in a setting that had never been seen before, the town of Comblain-au-Pont, south of Liège, with just over 5,000 inhabitants.
In its forests, a route of just over 10 kilometers with 12 areas and a total of 3 laps was proposed. The big surprise was the weather, as the threatening rain had a strong presence both on the previous night and on the day of competition. The areas, which were already marked at a high level, had to be checked again in the morning to be smoothed out and adapted to the critical grip conditions of the day.
From a sporting point of view, the World Pro category started with the dominance of Adam Raga, who completed the first step through the leading areas with an advantage of 3 points over Bou and Cabestany with one more. It was already clear that the differences would be in zones 4, 5, 7 and 12. Bou, however, made a mistake in zone 3 and had to add an unexpected “several” to his partial that was key in the scores of this first round.
The second pass through the zones was the best of the race for Toni Bou, the worst for Adam Raga and intermediate for Cabestany. This lottery equalized and added excitement to the race, placing Bou as provisional leader and leaving both Raga and Cabestany in a fist. Behind them, eight points behind, was a large group of riders led by Dabill, followed by Fujinami, Ferrer and Fajardo.
On the last lap the best partials were signed by Raga and Cabestany, equal at 19 points, compared to the 21 of Bou, who thanks to the advantage accumulated during the second lap scored a hard-fought and important victory for the championship. Raga managed to maintain the one-point advantage over Cabestany and only conceded three more points in the provisional standings, leaving the world championship completely alive with only five races to go.
In the World Cup category, corresponding to the former Junior, the The victory went to Franz Kadlec, followed by Steven Coquelin and Pietro Petrangeli. Jaime Busto, our Spanish representative, signed his worst result of the year, a fifth, but remains at the top of the standings with an eight-point lead over Kadlec.
The Trial World Championship does not rest and travels to the United Kingdom to compete in two days of competition on July 19 and 20. France will come next and close 3 consecutive weeks of races where there are 80 points at stake and the world championship can be practically sentenced.
The 2014 Women’s Trial World Championship kicked off its short calendar in Belgium with the absence of Laia Sanz, who announced her retirement from the speciality last Friday. Laia, who until now had monopolised the title of world champion, gave way to a new generation of riders who were more evenly matched and with several favourites for the title.
The Belgian GP was dominated by Emma Bristow, who scored a resounding victory, ahead of her closest rival, Rebekah Cook, by 24 points. With one more on her card, Sandra Gómez from Madrid completed the podium.
We also highlight the presence of three more Spanish riders: Mireia Conde (8th), Elisabet Solera (9th), Berta Abellán (13th) and María Giró (21st). The second round of the women’s world championship will be in Spain at the beginning of September.
Text: Trialword / Photos: FIM
[VER VÍDEOS DEL GP DE BÉLGICA]
WORLD CUP 125 GP BELGIUM RESULTS
DECLARATIONS
Toni Bou:
Raga: “It was a difficult race because of the conditions. It had rained a lot and the mud complicated quite a few areas. For me in particular, the sixth one has choked me up a bit. I’ve made two fives in it and if it wasn’t for this, I would have had a chance to win. Despite this, I think it’s a good result for the championship because, a second place, allows us not to drop out of the fight after a day that has been very complicated for everyone. There are still three grands prix left, next weekend we will be in Great Britain and then in France, in a place where we had not yet done any world championship races. We are now at a time of year when, as always, it is difficult to predict whether or not it will rain in Britain. Last year at this same grand prix I was sick, so for this one I hope I can be in full condition and fight for the victory.”
Takahisa Fujinami: “Finishing fourth is nothing to be very happy about, but I think in the end I have to be satisfied. I had a bad first lap, but on the second and third laps I felt very comfortable on the bike. However, the riders in front were too far away to catch them and I missed out on the podium. But well, I’m very happy, because in the previous tests I maybe lacked a bit of confidence, something that I was able to improve and in the complicated sections I felt good.”
Jorge Casales: “It was a difficult race, with complicated sections and a very high level. On the first lap I made a couple of mistakes that delayed me in qualifying and then, when it started to rain, the race underwent a radical change. I was a bit unlucky in this race and I got some mistakes that I didn’t deserve. I’m not too happy with the result, but you have to keep fighting and learning to be here. After my good results in Japan, Italy and Corsica, you always want more and this ninth place doesn’t taste like much.”
Arnau Farré: “The areas were very wet and very difficult. The one that went perhaps the worst for me was the first one, in which I scored a five on each lap, but the rest went well for me. It was a shame because I think that, if it weren’t for this, we could have been much more successful. This was my first race of the world championship and at the beginning I was very nervous, but then, as the race progressed, I had a very good feeling on the bike. I hope I can continue to learn and improve in the next rounds.”
Sandra Gomez: “It was a difficult day, it was very difficult for me to be comfortable with so much mud. As it rained more, the areas became more complicated. I’m happy because being on the podium is always positive and motivating, but now there’s a lot of hard work to be done for the races in September. I still have to adapt well to the nonstop.”
