Bou and Bristow complete an Italian clean sweep!

In a repeat of Saturday’s polished performances, Toni Bou (Montesa) and Emma Bristow (Sherco) were the dominant riders on day two of the TrialGP of Italy – the sixth and penultimate round of the Hertz FIM Trial World Championship – at Sestriere today as Alycia Soyer (TRRS) and Jamie Galloway (TRRS) topped Trial2 Women and Trial3.

• Toni Bou and Emma Bristow complete Italian clean sweep
• Billy Green extends his Trial2 championship lead
• Alycia Soyer returns to the top in Trial2 Women

With clear skies, warm weather and another sizeable crowd, the Alpine ski resort’s steep wooded climbs and mostly natural rock sections provided a technical test for the best riders on the planet with the power-sapping high altitude also a big factor.
 
The sections were largely unaltered from day one, although section two was cancelled for the TrialGP riders on the opening lap to allow organisers to reroute it around a large boulder that had become loose.
 
Unable to pull clear of his fellow Spaniard Jaime Busto (GASGAS) after the opening three rounds of TrialGP competition, six day wins in a row now leave Bou on the verge of a seventeenth-straight crown with a twenty-nine point lead and just the final round at Vertolaye in France to go at the beginning of September.
 
Bou was in complete control all day with his opening lap score of two handing him an eight-mark advantage at the halfway stage ahead of compatriot Adam Raga (TRRS) with Italy’s Matteo Grattarola (Beta) next best on thirteen, two ahead of Gabriel Marcelli (Montesa) and four clear of Busto.
 
It was rising Spanish star Marcelli who shone brightest on lap two, adding just three further marks to jump up to a career-best-equalling second on a total of eighteen that was double Bou’s winning score.
 
“It was not an easy day,” said Bou, “but I am super-happy with the result and the team because we worked hard preparing for this event and the altitude. Now I have a good lead the plan is for a bit of a holiday.”
 
Raga, showing no ill-effects of his recent knee surgery that forced him to miss the previous round, starting his second lap with a run of five straight cleans to close to within three marks of Bou, but back-to-back maximums dropped him out of contention and another three single dabs left him in third on twenty-three.

Miquel Gelabert (Vertigo) lost nineteen on his first lap, but he followed this up with a further twelve marks second time around to record his best finish of the season in fourth after winning a tie-break with Grattarola as Busto missed the podium for the first time this year in a disappointing sixth on a distant forty-seven.
 
In a class of her own yesterday, Britain’s defending TrialGP Women champion Bristow tightened her grip on a ninth title in ten years with a dominant display that saw her seize control on the fifth section of the opening lap and extend her win-streak to six and her championship lead to ten points.
 
The thirty-two-year-old completed her first lap for a loss of just five to leave her six ahead of main rival Berta Abellan (Scorpa) from Spain. Bristow then pressed home her advantage with another lap of five leaving her on a total of ten as Abellan added an additional seventeen to her score.
 
“I feel like I have ridden pretty well all weekend,” said Bristow. “I made a few mistakes today, but nothing too major and I held it together and kept my score quite low so I am pleased because I have got a good lead in the championship.”
 
Trailing Abellan by three after lap one, Italy’s Andrea Sofia Rabino (Beta) reeled in her rival on the second circuit before being forced to settle for third place on a tie-break with French rider Naomi Monnier (GASGAS) fourth another seven behind before a big gap back to the Czech Republic’s Denisa Pechackova (GASGAS).
 
It was a vitally important day for Trial2 championship leader Billy Green (Scorpa) from Britain who rose to the occasion and claimed a comfortable five-mark victory after slipping to fifth on day one.
 
Green’s opening lap score of just one gave him an early four-mark advantage over his compatriot Jack Peace (Sherco) who started the day one point behind in the championship following his second-placed finish on Saturday.
 
Spain’s Pablo Suarez (Montesa) was another mark behind at the hallway stage, but the twenty-two-year-old then upped his game with his second-lap total of five matching Green’s and lifting him into second, two clear of Peace.
 
“After yesterday I was on a mission,” said Green. “After the first lap I knew I had a good advantage and although I got a little bit nervous I managed to keep it together. I am over the moon to win.”
 
Italy’s Gianluca Tournour (Sherco) matched his fourth-placed finish from yesterday with Hugo Dufrese (GASGAS) fifth as Norway’s defending champion Sondre Haga (GASGAS), who took his second win of the year on day one, trailed home in tenth on a very close-fought, competitive day.

Trial2 Women championship leader Alycia Soyer (TRRS) from France slipped to second on Saturday but she returned to the top today, claiming victory on a tie-break from home rider Alessia Bacchetta (GASGAS).
 
Bacchetta held a slim advantage at the halfway mark on lap two, but Soyer kept cool to reel her in as the day reached its conclusion with Seline Meling (Beta) from Norway finishing two marks off the pace for a season-best third-placed finish.
 
“Today was a good day because I won,” said Soyer. “I made some small mistakes on the first lap, but I am so happy to win and the points are very important for the championship.”
 
Spanish rider Laia Pi Ramirez (Beta) missed the podium for the first time this season in fifth behind Martina Brandani (Sherco) from Italy, but still maintains her third place in the points table.
 
Following his win yesterday, Trial3 championship leader George Hemingway (Beta) had to settle for third after fellow British rider Jamie Galloway (TRRS) replicated his win on day two last time out in Andorra.
 
Galloway’s first lap total of six gave him a four-mark lead at the halfway stage and he followed this up with a second lap of eight to run out winner ahead of France’s Romeo Piquet (Beta) who ended on a total of nineteen.
 
“It was a really good day despite a five on section two to begin with,” said Galloway. “I managed to get on a bit of a roll after that – it has been a great event and the crowd has been awesome.”
 
A further four marks behind, Hemingway still extended his championship lead after finishing one position ahead of title rival Jone Sandvik (Sherco) from Norway with Galloway’s victory consolidating his third place in the standings.

The 2023 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship now takes a break for August before the series concludes with the seventh and concluding round – the TrialGP of France – on 1-3 September at Vertolaye where the final destination of all five championships will be decided with all the action streamed LIVE on FIM-MOTO.TV.