Toni Bou wins the X-Trial World Championship round in Geneva

Yesterday the second round of the 2012 X-Trial World Championship in Geneva was held, where rider Toni Bou once again showed all his potential, securing his second consecutive win and moving further ahead in the overall standings.

Once again the Montesa rider was unstoppable for the rest of his rivals, and only the battle for the remaining podium positions provided excitement, with Albert Cabestany finishing second and Takahisa Fujinami third. Fujinami managed to leave Adam Raga behind, who had to settle for fourth place despite topping the qualifying section ahead of Bou.

Raga had said before the start of the round that the key was to put pressure on Bou, and that is exactly what the GasGas rider did. This caused the Montesa rider to make some unusual mistakes in the water and rock section, but despite that fall, it did not prevent him from finishing as leader of the first zone of the semifinal, which was out of reach for all his rivals, and which he cleared with just one point to spare. For his part, Cabestany beat Fujinami to finish fourth, while our Alfredo Gómez completed the result in ninth place overall, giving his all and gradually improving.

In the final part, Bou was the best. No one could match him, and he secured another emphatic victory, extending his overall lead to 13 points and being the only rider to clear the mountain they had set up for this round. Meanwhile, the other big favorite, Raga, made a slip in the Tag Heuer zone, which left him out of the fight for the podium and left Cabestany and Fujinami battling for second place. The two veteran riders did not want to let this opportunity in Geneva slip away and gave their all; in the end, our Albert secured second place, with the Japanese rider, who had also turned in a great round, finishing behind him.

With this result, Cabestany now moves into second place overall, behind Bou, with Raga in third place, although everything could change again at the next round at the X-Trial in Marseille. Toni Bou will defend his championship lead in the third scoring round, which will take place next Friday, January 27, and Saturday, January 28, in the French city of Marseille.

Statements from Toni Bou:

It was a difficult trial, like all the World Championship rounds, since there is always a lot at stake. In the final I was fortunate to start from the very beginning with the slight advantage I had gained in the previous phase.

I knew I could not afford any mistakes, but the lead I had, although small, was enough to face the decisive moments with confidence. Obviously, I am very satisfied with this new victory and this start to the season.

X-Trial Geneva 2012 Results