The last round of the X-Trial World Championship was held in Vendée, France, and Toni Bou and Gabriel Marcelli were the main protagonists. Bou led the first two rounds and, in the final, repeated the exciting duel with his Repsol Honda teammate from a week ago in Madrid. All the scoring areas ended tied and they had to carry out a final tiebreaker, which ended up going Bou’s way.
Bou took a sixth win in seven races, as he continues to increase his indoor record (78 indoor victories, 93 podiums and 17 World Championships). Marcelli’s second position allowed him to close the year with third position in the standings and a total of 5 podiums from 7 events in the X-Trial World Championship. With this event in Vendéé, the X-Trial World Championship puts an end to the 2023 season.
Statements
Toni Bou
“I want to congratulate Gabri on the end of the season he has had. For me, today’s race was different, with hardly any pressure, although Gabri and Jaime made things very difficult for me in the final where in the end I took the victory. I am very proud of the consistency shown throughout the season. We have achieved many victories and we have always been at the front, so I am very grateful to my team for their work. I have achieved much more than I could have imagined in my sporting career, but I like to compete and have fun and with the level of the young riders we will continue to do so.”
Gabri Marcelli
“Maybe at the beginning I was a little nervous, but when I went into the final I became calmer. Overall, I think I rode at a very good level. I was fighting side by side with Toni until the last zone and we went to the tiebreaker zone. I’m very happy with how things have gone this year; we have made a lot of progress and that means that next year we will be able to take another step forward. I want to thank the team for this incredible year.”