Bou dominates in Chambéry
World Champion Bou returned to winning ways, leaving his rivals for dust
Toni Bou (Repsol Honta Trial Team) claimed the win at X-Trial Chambéry with an exemplary display in an all-Spanish Grand Final. Bou’s fellow countrymen Jaime Busto (GasGas), Gabriel Marcelli (Repsol Honda Trial Team) and Adam Raga (Sherco) finished in that order behind him.
The scorelines alone highlight just how comfortable this win was for Bou; he totalled 6, while Busto finished on 17, Marcelli on 18 and Raga on 30. Whereas Bou successfully completed the toughest Sections One, Three and Five with just four dropped marks, his three rivals failed each of them, giving him victory with two rides to spare.
Instead, the fight for second place at X-Trial Chambéry provided the entertainment in the Final. Jaime Busto put in an excellent damage limitation ride after finishing Q1 down in fifth place, bouncing back with P1 in Q2 to join the podium fight, and then beating Gabriel Marcelli by a single mark. The pair entered the last section level, but Busto’s superior result there gave him the slender advantage. Second place here and victory at X-Trial Madrid last month mean Busto remains tied on points with Toni Bou at 35 apiece.
Adam Raga, meanwhile, remains third in the Standings as the only other rider with two Grand Final appearances. But after a stunning win in Q1, ahead of Toni Bou on time, Raga was unable to make an impression on the Final.
Home hero Benoit Bincaz (Sherco) missed out on qualification by just a single mark in Q1 and with the last ride of Q2 against Jaime Busto.
The three least experienced riders on show were cut somewhat adrift, but debutant Lorenzo Gandola (Beta) showed well in the opening two sections of Q1 to take sixth. Hugo Dufrese (Beta) marked his return to the series with seventh and will hope for better next week in Clermont-Ferrand. Harry Hemingway (Beta) put in a strong Q2 and was close in several places around the Q1 course but came home eighth.
Toni Bou (1st): “I am very happy with the win but most of all the way I got it. I needed a win like this today – dominating the Final from start to finish – after what happened in Madrid. Winning like this is a real confidence boost. We have done a good job and I thank my team for that.”
Jaime Busto (2nd): “I am disappointed with my riding today. In Q1 I strained my arm and it was tough from there. I did manage to recover a bit and things got better. So I am happy to have finished second and I’m looking forward to next week.”
Gabriel Marcelli (3rd): “I am happy to be back on the podium, which is important because I didn’t feel good at all in Madrid. But today I rode at a high level, and even though I could have avoided a couple of mistakes, I am happy with third and finishing only a mark from second.”
Round three of the 2025 World Championship is X-Trial Clermont-Ferrand which takes place this coming Friday 17th January.
