Toni Bou (Montesa) continued his mission to rewrite the record books on day two of the TrialGP of Andorra – round two of the 2026 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship – when he parted with just one mark over both TrialGP races and Andrea Sofia Rabino (Beta) claimed a career-best double victory in TrialGP Women, but the wins were once again split in Trial2 and Trial3 Junior where the front-runners continued to search for consistency across both races.
Now unbeaten following the opening two rounds and four days of points-scoring competition, Bou is chasing an unparalleled twentieth consecutive crown and on today’s form he is going to be a tough man to beat after he piled the pressure on his rivals. On another dry and warm day at Sant Julià de Lòria, high in the Pyrenees, the sections were still dry and grippy after yesterday’s event and the thirty-nine-year-old Spaniard lost just one mark as he underlined his dominance to win the opening race by fifteen clear marks. As was the case yesterday, his closest challenger was Gabriel Marcelli (Montesa) and Britain’s Jack Peace (Sherco), in just his second season in the class, also demonstrated his undeniable potential in third on eighteen. A solid sixth overall on Saturday, Spain’s Miquel Gelabert (Honda) brought his electric machine home in fourth a further two marks adrift with his compatriot Jaime Busto (Beta) never quite finding his flow on the rock-strewn, super-steep mountainside sections as he finished fifth on twenty-two. Following a dramatic Super Pole section to determine starting order for the six-section Final that saw Bou third after Busto and Marcelli had tied for the win on an identical time, the world’s best riders were challenged by a technical, rocky climb to exit the opening section that drew maximums from everyone apart from Peace who manhandled his machine through for a three before Bou did the seemingly impossible with a gravity-defying clean. Having thrown down the gauntlet to his rivals, Bou then recorded another five cleans to complete his domination of the Final before, with the scores carried across, he produced a string of four faultless rides to stay unpenalised through the Super Final to seal another famous win. “Today has been better than I expected,” said Bou. “There is a lot of pressure for me in Andorra and one point in the first race and zero points in the second is amazing so I am super-happy.” Behind Bou the battle for the remaining podium positions was fierce with Marcelli neck-and-neck with Grattarola after the Final before the twenty-six-year-old Spaniard pulled six clear of the thirty-eight-year-old Italian in the Super Final to finish second on seventeen. Gelabert took fourth on a tie-break from Peace – whose fifth place was good enough for a career-first overall podium – after the pair finished locked together on thirty, seven ahead of French rider Hugo Dufrese (Beta) and ten in front of a disappointed Busto. Starting the weekend sitting third in the TrialGP Women’s standings, Rabino will head home to Italy holding a strong second behind defending champion Berta Abellan (Scorpa) after winning both today’s races to slash the deficit from seventeen points to eleven. The twenty-year-old took early control of race one with three cleans in the first three sections and maintained her momentum to finish on a total of ten, seven ahead of her Spanish rival who was left with no way back after incurring a five on section nine. French rider Alycia Soyer won a tie-break for third with Britain’s Alice Minta (Beta) on twenty, two clear of Denisa Pechackova from the Czech Republic with Italy’s Alessia Bacchetta – who was holding second following the opening round – sixth on twenty-five. Resuming their battle in race two, Abellan lost seven marks in the first two sections where Rabino stayed clean, but the twenty-six-year-old fought back and her final score of fifteen was only two marks adrift of the Italian who sealed her victory with an ice-cool clean on the final section. Pechackova was third on nineteen, one clear of Soyer who took fourth on a tie-break with Minta to secure third overall on the day. “It has been a great weekend for me,” said Rabino. “I’m very happy to win both races today and my feeling with the bike was very good. It’s my home round next and I’m looking forward to it.” Trial2 has established a reputation as a class where the unexpected should be expected and the day started with Spain’s Gerard Trueba (Beta) becoming the fifth race winner of the season with just a single mark lost over the twelve hazards leaving him three clear of a two-way tie for second that was won by Italian Francesco Titli (Montesa) from his Spanish title rival Arnau Farré (Sherco). Series leader at the start of the day, Spain’s Alex Canales (Montesa) maintained his advantage at the top of the table with fourth on a score of five that put him one ahead of Britain’s Jack Dance. Ending the first race in seventh, French rider Benoit Bincaz (Electric Motion) – who missed last month’s opening round – bounced back in race two to put his electric machine on top for the second time this weekend after winning a tie-break with Dance on a score of nine, a finish that also secured the day’s overall. So close is this class that only three marks covered the top five finishers with Britain’s Billy Green (Scorpa) – who dropped to ninth in today’s first race after claiming a race win yesterday along with the day’s overall – winning a tie-break for third from Farré on eleven with Canales fifth one mark further back. “I’m really, really happy to take the win today,” said Bincaz. “The sections were very tricky and it was difficult to fight all day, but finally I did it.” Consistency is vital for any title challenge and Britain’s Harison Skelton (Scorpa) delivered today in Trial3 Junior after finishing second yesterday behind Italian Fabio Mazzola to move into the series lead following the opening round of the abbreviated class schedule. Winner of the first race on a score of two that put him three ahead of Marco Laure (Beta) from Germany – who won yesterday’s second race – and eight in front of Spain’s Oriol Garcia Campano (Sherco), Skelton then parted with nine in race two to follow home Garcia Campano who dropped seven, enough to earn the young British rider the top step of the day’s podium and a six-point series lead. “I felt a lot better today,” said Skelton. “Right from the start I concentrated hard and felt at one with the bike so in the sections I was strong and managed to do what I needed to for the win.” Following his overall win yesterday, Mazzola recorded six-four finishes that dropped him to fourth in the title chase, although he is only nine points off the lead and remains firmly in the hunt. With little time to regroup, the world’s best Trial riders now head to round three – the TrialGP of Italy – at Camerino this coming weekend (19-21 June) where along with TrialGP, TrialGP Women, Trial2 and Trial3 Junior classes, the Trial2 Women will join the action for the first time this year. |
