Adam Raga wins the X-Trial World Championship 2019 event in Barcelona
Adam Raga has won the X-Trial World Championship event in Barcelona
The 42nd edition of the X-Trial World Championship in Barcelona has been one of the most exciting ever in this 2019, as we did not have a winner until the very end, and on this occasion Adam Raga secured victory by just one point ahead of Toni Bou.
The Palau Sant Jordi welcomed 9,600 spectators to watch the best Trial specialists in action, and right until the end they delivered pure excitement. When the whole crowd thought the race would be decided in a new tiebreak section, a point, the third in the last section, tipped the balance in favour of the TRRS rider.
The story of the final was marked by section four of the semifinal. Bou fell backwards, hitting the ground hard and the stands gasped, especially given the fracture of three vertebrae that the Piera rider suffered last year. That fall sapped the strength of the Honda rider, and by the first section of the final the setback left no doubt. But Bou is not one to give up easily, despite facing a Raga who put in a superb performance. The Valencian managed to withstand the pressure of being ahead in the provisional standings. A zero in the third section, a one in the fourth and another zero in the fifth put him in a clear lead. Only a slip in the last section put his victory at risk. With two points in that final section Bou would have tied the race, but no, he picked up three penalty points, and with that the final victory went to the rider from Ulldecona.
The third and fourth places were contested by the two Gas Gas riders, Jaime Busto and Jeroni Fajardo, with victory for the former, as he picked up six penalty points across the four sections, compared with Fajardo’s 9.
Statements from Adam Raga:
I am very happy to have won here in Barcelona. It was a very difficult race, with very complicated sections, and I think that makes it even more valuable. It is very important to have won ahead of the World Championship. It was spectacular. Toni Bou is very strong and despite suffering an incredible fall he made things very difficult for me. Championships are won race by race, so today’s win is an important one. I want to dedicate this victory to a friend who is going through a tough time.
With this win for Raga, in the provisional overall standings Adam and Toni are tied at the top with 35 points after two rounds of the 2019 X-Trial World Championship calendar.
