Bou adds Stavanger to his roll of honour
X-Trial’s first visit to Norway ended with victories for Toni Bou and Berta Abellán
Toni Bou (Repsol Honda Trial Team) took his fourth consecutive victory and the first ever at new World Championship venue Stavanger. Top in Q1 and fastest in Superpole, Bou tore into his opposition in the opening three Sections of the Final and had his latest win secured with three rides to spare.
Bou scored just one mark in the opening three sections of a Final that turned quickly into a battle for the podium between Gabriel Marcelli (Repsol Honda Trial Team), Jaime Busto (GasGas) and Alex Canales (Montesa).
Canales was a surprise qualifier from Q2, where he dropped only three marks compared to four for Matteo Grattarola (Beta) and two fiascos for Benoit Bincaz (Sherco). But X-Trial debutant Canales failed all six Sections in a challenging Grand Final and had to be content with fourth.
But there was nothing to choose between Marcelli and Busto for second. A failure for Busto in Section Two where Marcelli needed just two marks left him with ground to recover. But Busto made that up in Section Three, when Marcelli failed, and as the only rider clean in Section Five. Marcelli held his nerve, though, with a clean in the run-off, while a dab for Jaime Busto was a costly end to his night. Bou now leads Busto 95 points to 64, with Marcelli third on 51.
Matteo Grattarola (Beta) put in his best finish in his three appearances this season so far with fifth but will have been frustrated to let slip his place in the Final after totalling just one mark more than Gabriel Marcelli in Q1 and finishing just seven tenths of a second short of Alex Canales in Q2. Meanwhile with his worst result of the season so far, Benoit Bincaz drops from only three points back to fourteen in arrears of Marcelli and the medal rankings. Local riders Sondre Haga (GasGas) and debutant Mats Nilsen (TRRS) completed the eight-rider field.
Toni Bou (1st): “I am very happy to have added this event to my roll of honour and to be Stavanger’s first winner. Truthfully I started the Final in very good form and was able to really cement an early lead. But the Sections were very slippery, more so than usual. The team has done a great job again so I must congratulate them.”
Gabriel Marcelli (2nd): “I am happy with this second place which is my best result of the season so far. Really I wasn’t quite at ease tonight but the second place is good news for the Championship.”
Jaime Busto (3rd): “I am relatively satisfied because initially I wasn’t sure if I would make it to the Final. I gave it everything and I only missed out on second place in the run-off. So I have to be pleased.”
In the women’s trophy, Berta Abellán (Scorpa) made it back-to-back victories. Just six days on from the inaugural Round in Barcelona, X-Trial Stavanger proved more close-fought, as Abellán and Andrea Sofia Rabino (Beta) could only be separated by a tie-break on time in each of the two Rounds. In Round One Rabino came out on top, but on total time over the five Sections Abellán took top spot by just three tenths of a second. Denisa Pechackova (TRRS) completed the podium on six marks, meaning she and Rabino are tied for second, thirteen points behind Abellan going into the Final Round in Tallinn in April.
Completing the field in Stavanger, home debutant Huldeborg Barkved (TRRS) took fourth ahead of Naomi Monnier (Montesa) and Alice Minta (Beta) after the three were tied on eleven marks apiece.
Berta Abellán (1st): “ I am very pleased with this win because it was very tricky. The level of the Sections was lower so we were all very equal. I hope that I will win in Tallinn too to claim this first FIM World Trophy.”
Round Six of the 2025 World Championship comes from Wiener Neustadt in Austria on 15th March.
