Last weekend saw trials legend Toni Bou become the 2021 TrialGP World Champion as he notched up another win in Portugal. Bou has now claimed an impressive 125 triumphs and 15 consecutive TrialGP titles, taking him to 29 championship wins across indoor and outdoor disciplines, making him one of the greatest riders of all time.
Toni set the benchmark from the start, the trial was filled with demanding sections. The first 12 sections had been very slippery from the water which flows through the Portuguese town of Gouveia. Bou made it through to the end of the trial on Michelin Trial Comp tyres. These Trail Comp’s offer a great combination of flexibility, grip and strength, and the maximised contact patch casing hugs obstacles and rocks, making them perfect for this event. Bou had sufficient advantage to claim a 125th victory in the Trial World Championship. This season saw him victorious in seven 2021 Trial World Championship events to clinch the top TrialGP World Championship honours for a 15th time in a row.
It was also a very special event for Japanese Repsol Honda Team rider Takahisa Fujinami who brings to an end his career in the Trial World Championship. Fujinami rode a trial that went from strength to strength, improving considerably on the second lap before eventually posting seventh place on the day. “Fujigas” thus wraps up the world championship in sixth place overall.
This is what Bou had said after the event:
“This year has been very special for me because at the beginning things were very complicated with the injury just a month before the start of the championship. In the end there will come a year when I will not be able to win – I’ve won for 15 consecutive years – but the fact that I got injured just before the start of the world championship made it special and I didn’t want to lose a championship in this way. Once again we battled 100%, I tried to get into shape as the championship progressed and the fact that I had a very good work rate before I got injured also helped me to recover faster. I am very happy to be able to win another world championship. Once again, many thanks to the whole team.”
Bou didn’t waste any time getting straight back into it, as he represented the Spanish national team in the Trial des Nations event, helping them to victory too!
