02/05/18 – At the tender age of fifteen, Hugo Dufrese – Gas Gas is typical of the new wave of ambitious young riders hoping to work their way up the rankings and when the…

At the tender age of fifteen, Hugo Dufrese – Gas Gas is typical of the new wave of ambitious young riders hoping to work their way up the rankings and when the Trial125 class fires into action at the opening round of the 2018 FIM Trial World Championship on 19/20 May in Camprodon in Spain he will have a fantastic platform on which to showcase his talents.

Whilst not towering in stature the youngster from Avignon in the South East of France is not lacking in confidence, and has been working hard on his technique and conditioning over the winter and is determined to improve on his eighth-placed finish last year.

“I prepared as best I could on the bike and physically,” says Hugo. “It’s not always easy to mix school and Trial training because each day only has twenty four hours, but I try!”

Hugo claimed two podiums in 2017 with third-placed finishes in Spain and Andorra, but his title aspirations suffered a serious blow when he elected not to travel to Japan. This year, however, he fully intends to compete in the land of the rising sun.

“I am very excited to be going to Japan this year because everybody was talking about the event. I’m looking forward to it very much.”

Hugo has not set himself any firm and fast goals for the season, but that does not mean he is not already looking at the bigger picture.

“It’s a dream to become one day one of the best TrialGP riders. I think about this since I was a little boy, but for the moment the priority is only to have fun.”

“I would like to thank first of all my parents and my sister then Gas Gas, Jitsie, Distriflac, Beta tools, 100% Sport, Dherbey Moto, the FFM, AMC GRASSE, Alpinestars, Renthal, Abela, Alain Artinian, le Domaine Saint Savournin and everybody who makes it possible for me to compete at this level.”