TrialGP of Germany: Bou, Peace and Hemingway reign supreme
By Team TMX on 8th Jul 24
News Trials Trial World Championship
Reigning champions Toni Bou (Montesa) and Emma Bristow (Sherco) maintained their control of the premier TrialGP and TrialGP Women classes on day one of the TrialGP of Germany – as Jack Peace (Sherco) strengthened his lead in Trial2, George Hemingway (Beta) extended his win-streak in Trial3 and Martina Brandani (Sherco) seized an early advantage as the FIM Women’s Trial2 World Cup got under way.
Having lost just once in the first six days of competition, Bou started the day with a comfortable 27-point lead in the standings and the sublime Spaniard was untouchable on the opening lap at Neunkirchen with his score of seven including a maximum on Section 11 where a huge triple step stopped everyone.
With the sections comprising a mixture of super-steep bankings under trees and massive imported rocks, Bou’s compatriot Jaime Busto (GASGAS) held second at the halfway stage on fourteen, four clear of Miquel Gelabert (Vertigo) with Italian veteran Matteo Grattarola (Beta) best of the rest on 22, one ahead of Jorge Casales (TRRS).
Bou and Busto then locked horns on lap two with the pair reeling off a series of faultless rides before arriving at Section 11 having cleaned everything at their second attempts, but with rain beginning to fall the imposing step once again remained unconquered by the entire field. Both sailed through the final hazard unpenalized and while Bou maintained his seven-mark advantage until the end, Busto’s second lap performance sets up a dramatic showdown between the two tomorrow.
“I’m super-happy after a few problems in Italy,” said Bou. “I’ve ridden here with more confidence and the feeling is very good, I just made mistakes in Section 11. Today has been important for the championship.”
While the top two distanced themselves from the chasing pack, the battle for the final step of the podium raged behind them until the final section of the Trial. Grattarola held a slender advantage, but he failed to get up the big step before the exit and dropped to fifth while Gelabert’s five at the same place also cost him a top-three finish.
By contrast, Gabriel Marcelli (Montesa) recorded a clean here that pulled him back up to fourth after an expensive opening lap, but it was Casales who booked his first visit to the podium since 2020 when he cruised through feet-up.
Having announced before the opening round that this will be her final year of top-flight competition, Bristow is determined to record a perfect swansong season and the British lioness maintained her 2024 unbeaten record with a clear win as she took another step towards a 10th title in 11 years.
“I’m really happy with my win today and to extend my championship lead,” said Bristow. “I’ve been training a lot and I felt really good on the bike.”
Parting with three marks on her first lap and two on her second, Bristow outclassed a strong field led by French rider Naomi Monnier (Montesa) whose opening lap total of nine placed her second at the halfway mark, four ahead of Spain’s Berta Abellan (Scorpa) who in turn was three clear of Andrea Sofia Rabino (Beta) from Italy.
As Bristow eased clear on lap two, Monnier resisted strong pressure from Abellan to add a further six to her total and end the day three ahead of the Spaniard who has been vice-champion for the last two seasons. The Czech Republic’s Denisa Pecháková equalled her career-best finish at this level in fourth on twenty-five, one in front of Rabino.
Leading Trial2 by seven points heading into Neunkirchen, British national champion Jack Peace carried the momentum from his win on day two last time out in Italy to claim his third day victory of the campaign and extend his advantage at the top.
With consistency key in such a close and competitive class, the twenty-four-year-old went head-to-head on the opening lap with compatriot and defending champion Billy Green (Scorpa) with the pair tied on seven following the first twelve sections, two clear of a three-way tie for third between Britain’s Harry Hemingway (Beta), Italy’s Carloalberto Rabino (Beta) and Gerard Trueba (Beta) from Spain.
Peace and Green picked up where they left off on lap two with Green moving into an early single-mark advantage before Peace finally took the lead on Section 7 and even a single dab on the final hazard of the day that took his total to 10 could not stop him securing victory from Green by just one mark.
“I’ve really enjoyed today,” said Peace. “It’s been a really good Trial and I am happy to keep the momentum going from Italy. There was a lot of pressure at the end, but I’m really happy with the way I rode.”
The best lap of the day was recorded by former championship leader Alex Canales (Sherco) from Spain whose loss of just one lifted him to third following a costly opening lap score of 14 with Hemingway fourth on 17, two ahead of Spain’s Arnau Farré (Sherco) as Rabino and Trueba dropped down the order.
Trial3 has been dominated this year by George Hemingway and the younger of the talented brothers extended his win-streak to five with a conclusive victory, his total of three placing him 12 clear of fellow British rider Euan Sim (Sherco) and 19 ahead of France’s Pablo Echene (Beta).
“I started off with two on the first lap and had a good lead,” said Hemingway. “I wanted to clean everything on the second lap and didn’t quite manage it but I’m pleased with how I was riding.”
The rising young stars of the FIM Women’s Trial2 World Cup sprang into action in Neunkirchen where Italy’s Brandani drew first blood following a close battle with Laia Pi (Beta) from Spain.
Ranked sixth in 2023, Brandani held a slender two-mark lead from Pi after the opening lap on a score of 14 and then extended her advantage, adding a further eleven on lap two to end the day seven ahead of last year’s third-ranked rider. Poland’s Justyna Lonycz (GASGAS) took the third step of the podium on a score of thirty-seven.
“I’m so happy to get the win today,” said Brandani. “I made more mistakes than I would have liked to, but in the end I managed to get the victory.”
It was a tense day of twists, turns and drama – plus the sport’s ultimate achievement of a clean scorecard – as competitors in the 2024 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship fired back into action on day two of the TrialGP of Germany at Neunkirchen.
In the premier TrialGP class defending champion Toni Bou (Montesa) eased to another victory – his seventh from eight starts – as he strengthened his claim on an unparalleled 18th consecutive title while reigning TrialGP Women champion Emma Bristow (Sherco) from Britain slipped to third behind Berta Abellan (Scorpa) and Andrea Sofia Rabino (Beta).
In Trial2 Britain’s Jack Peace (Sherco) completed a German double and in the process strengthened his hold on the class lead while his 16-year-old compatriot George Hemingway (Beta) put in an incredible faultless performance to maintain his unbeaten run in Trial3 and Martina Brandani (Sherco) made it two wins from two starts in the FIM Women’s Trial2 World Cup.
Fears that the rain that appeared during the closing stages of yesterday’s second lap would fall heavily overnight did not materialise so sections – a few of which were stiffened up for day two – stayed dry, although the loose soil on many of the steep, testing banks and climbs meant grip was still at a premium.
As we’re so accustomed to seeing, Spanish superstar Bou set the early pace, but after matching him section-for-section on yesterday’s second lap Jaime Busto (GASGAS) kept the pressure firmly on from the start and with the entire field again defeated by the triple step of Section 11, Bou’s total of nine gave him a slim two-mark advantage over his younger rival at the halfway mark.
Demonstrating the dominance of the leading pair, after the first lap it was Italy’s Matteo Grattarola (Beta) in third a further 10 marks behind with Gabriel Marcelli (Montesa) fourth on 22 before a six-mark gap to Jorge Casales (TRRS) in fifth.
A maximum on the rocky climb of section four that he had cleaned at his first attempt put Busto on the back foot early on lap two and he had to settle for another second-placed finish as Bou ended the day on 14 with an 11-mark winning advantage.
“It has been a super weekend for us,” said Bou. “Today I was riding really good with just some little mistakes in Section 11 and I’m super-happy with the result.”
Marcelli found his groove on lap two, shaving 10 marks off his first-lap total to end the day a clear third with Grattarola dropping to fourth on 43 as Casales – a podium finisher yesterday – came home in fifth on 50.
After winning the opening three days of competition in the TrialGP Women class, Bristow went off the boil on day two in Neunkirchen and was third at the end of the day as Spain’s Abellan found her form to take her first win at this level since the opening round of 2023.
Tied with Italy’s Rabino on seven after the first lap, Abellan’s years of experience came into play during the second half of the Trial as she added just two more to her score, giving herself an eventual winning margin of six.
“I’m really, really happy,” said Abellan. “My first win this season has taken a lot of work so for me today has been perfect.”
Halfway around the second lap Bristow was facing the very real possibility of finishing off the podium for the first time since the final round of 2012 as she trailed Naomi Monnier (Montesa), but as the French rider faltered in the closing stages Bristow kept her cool to move into third on a total of seventeen to maintain a 10-point series lead.
A strong second on Saturday, Monnier’s total of twenty-four gave her fourth, seven clear of fifth-placed Alice Minta (Scorpa) from Britain.
During this year’s early rounds Trial2 had been characterised by inconsistent results that produced four different winners from the first four days, but with his third win in a row Peace has now seized control of the class.
The 24-year-old British national champion’s first lap of six gave him a slim one-mark lead over Spain’s Gerard Trueba (Beta) at the halfway mark with Alex Canales (TRRS) holding third on 10, one ahead of electric-powered Sondre Haga (GASGAS).
With the pressure firmly on, Peace then produced some of the best form of his career to add just two more to his total to comfortably complete his first-ever double win at this level. Defending champion Billy Green (Scorpa) climbed to second on 21 – one clear of a tie for third won by Canales from Arnau Farrè (Sherco) – with Trueba slipping to fifth on 23 as Haga fell back to 10th on 35.
“It’s been a great weekend and it is so nice to get the double win,” said Peace. “I rode really well again today and felt very relaxed.”
In Trial3 Hemingway claimed his sixth consecutive win with a sensational clean ride to continue the dominant defence of his crown and his fellow British rider Euan Sim (Beta), in his debut season in the class, dropped just five for second as he consolidated his position as Hemingway’s main challenger.
“I’m absolutely buzzing with the result,” said Hemingway. “That’s probably my first clean Trial ever and to do it here at this level feels amazing.”
Johannes Heidel (Beta) rewarded the home crowd’s support with a fighting third – his best finish of the season – on eight.
After getting her FIM Women’s Trial2 World Cup campaign off to a winning start yesterday, Italy’s Brandani once again emerged on top of this competitive class with her total of 21 giving her a nine-mark cushion ahead of last year’s fourth-ranked rider Seline Meling (Beta) from Norway with Germany’s Linda Weber (TRRS) taking the final step on the podium on 32.
“The first lap did not go quite as planned,” said Brandani, “but I managed to recover and eventually bring it home.”
