Bou wows 'em inside and out
By John Dickinson on 8th Feb 07
Having forced himself to slum it in Barcelona JD discovered first hand the genius of Toni Bou.
The King is dead - long live the King!
OK, perhaps it is a little early to bring down the curtain on Adam Raga's reign as the undisputed king of trials but if the start of the 2007 World Indoor series is anything to go by Toni Bou certainly has both eyes, if not yet both hands, on the crown.
Bou's start to 2007 has been nothing short of electrifying. Not only has he switched teams, he has - as we all know –- moved from a two-stroke which he knew intimately after years on the same marque, to a four-stroke.
He then came straight out and won his very first competitive event, the Toulouse (non championship) Indoor trial, and has gone on to win three of the four World Championship trials held so far. The odd trial out - Marseille, he was struck with a mechanical problem and was forced to ride most of his Qualifying lap with no front brake.
In Barcelona he was simply in a class of his own.
Having seen Bou live on the four-stroke Repsol-Montesa in Barcelona - along with a bevy of Brits who made the annual pilgrimmage - there is no doubt in my mind that Bou has moved the goalposts. He has reached a new level of skill and technique, and the four-stroke - previously understood to be a no-no for Indoors - brings out the best in his riding.
Look at Bou's record. Up to this year no Montesa rider had won a World Indoor event. Toni has come out and taken three out of four. And not just by the odd, possibly lucky mark, he has absolutely destroyed the opposition.
Adam Raga in particular, reigning Indoor and Outdoor champ, looks absolutely demoralised. I mentioned this to Dougie Lampkin in Barcelona and Doug said, ''Yes, but this is what it's like when you are number one. It is a lot harder to defend titles than to win the first one. The pressure is all on Adam now!”''
A good point well made, and one which reinforces just how good Doug was to nail those seven straight outdoor titles, not to mention five Indoors. It is also worth remembering that Dougie did to Marc Colomer exactly what Bou is now doing to Raga.
Has Raga suddenly lost his seemingly invincible skill? Of course not, if Raga had ridden with the same confidence as he did when winning Barcelona just two years ago he would have given Bou a real run for his money. He might not have won but a close second would have been a gimme. But what he has done is get inside Adam's head and Raga does not look half the competitor that he did.
The 64,000 dollar question is, can Raga get his head round the problem and strike back quickly or will he end like Colomer
One thing that Barcelona showed once again is how wrong the system is at the World Indoors for the wild card riders. It is hard enough for riders like Shaun Morris to ride the odd Indoor anyway, the wild cards get no practise and then they are thrown straight into the lions' den to go first in every single section. This needs to change.
Sheffield proved that a rotational system in the Qualifying heat is far and away a better way of doing things. It is better for the individual riders and more improtantly, better for the crowd. There is no pleasure or entertainment value in watching a talented rider like Shaun, or Taddy Blazusiak or Loris Gubian or whoever clocking up five after five. If they had the benefit of being able to watch other riders tackle some sections and THEN have a go themselves, they might not clean it but they would learn so much more. To watch the other riders after they have fived all the sections is no use whatsoever. They need - and deserve - better treatment.
Meanwhile, we have the rest of the Indoor series to look forward to and to see just where the Bou-Montesa phenomenon will take us. To be honest, Bou is where he is. The skill and confidence are right up there and I really don't see anything changing, short of bad luck or - heaven forbid - injury.
The reaction has to come from the other riders. It is up to Raga, Cabestany, Fuji, Doug and co to come up with an answer. Bou is not going to come down a level, it is up to someone to come out of the pack and claw their way up to him.
We are about to find out if Raga really is a match for seven times champ Lampkin... and I think we all have our views on that!