Trials Torque: Hard to pick a Wiener winner
By Jason Bellinger on 16th Mar 16
THIS Saturday sees the third and penultimate round of the 2016 FIM X-Trial World Championship when the Austrian town of Wiener Neustadt plays host.
And with reigning, nine-times champ Toni Bou and four-times X-Trial champ Adam Raga currently tied on points there will be plenty of tension, especially with just one more round remaining.
Raga caused a sensation when he took victory in his first X-Trial outing on the all-new TRS machine, beating hot favourite Bou and his factory Repsol Montesa.
But Bou struck back with a typical stunning win at the impressive San Jordi Stadium in Barcelona, in front of 12,000 Catalan enthusiasts.
But with the top two locking horns Sherco's Albert Cabestany could sneak in and steal a win.
Cabes is now a veteran of 35 but has taken a brace of third places so far and he did win the final round of the 2015 series, so the silky skills are still there.
Jeroni Fajardo and Takahisa Fujinami – the popular Japanese ace who, at five months Cabestany's senior, is the oldest rider in the series – have both been off the pace so far.
Tall French star Alexzander Ferrer and young Swede Eddie Karlsson are the remaining contracted riders looking to make a breakthrough.
The wild card for Austria is young German prospect Franz Kadlec.
Franz was only 17 when he made his X-Trial debut in this event last year and hardly surprisingly finished in last place.
Still only 18, Franz now has the benefit of a year's World Championship campaign behind him and will approach the event with much more confidence.
The two-times German champ has also switched machines and is now a factory Gas Gas rider and has been practising hard in Spain through the winter.
A full-house of spectators is guaranteed and an exciting night's competition is the prospect.
Read all about it in next week's TMX.
