Just three marks clear of Raga following his opening lap of 10 , Bou was super-consistent and matched this total on the second lap to end the day on a total of 20 . Despite his best efforts which saw him drop his score second time around to 11 , Raga had to settle for second on the day and in the championship .
Jaime Busto ( Vertigo ) was a further two marks behind in third to secure the FIM bronze medal as Gabriel Marcelli ( Montesa ) completed a Spanish top-four sweep ahead of Italy ’ s Matteo Grattarola ( Beta ) who ended the series in fourth on his return to the premier class following his Trial2 title in 2020 .
While Bou ’ s title was pretty much a foregone conclusion , the TrialGP Women crown was up in the air heading into Portugal with British rider and reigning champion Emma Bristow ( Sherco ) going for her eighth consecutive title but leading Sanz – the 13-time champion who was returning to the series for the first time since 2013 – by just one point .
On the day Sanz rose to the occasion and topped the podium on a total of six with Berta Abellan ( Vertigo ) second on 11 , three ahead of Bristow .
The top five was completed by Spain ’ s Sandra Gomez ( TRRS ) and British rider Alice Minta ( Scorpa ) who rode well but were never really in contention for a podium finish .
“ It ’ s been amazing ,” said Sanz . “ Today has been really hard mentally but I handled the pressure well I think and after a very difficult year I ’ m really proud . I ’ m very thankful for my GASGAS team for believing in me .”
The Trial2 championship has been a competition from the get-go between British riders Martyn and Jack Peace ( Sherco ) but while Martyn ’ s third place today earned him the title he ’ s been chasing fulltime since 2017 , the win on the day was claimed by Italian rider Lorenzo Gandola ( Beta ) from Alexandre Ferrer ( TRRS ).
Martyn is a fierce competitor and won ’ t be happy to finish his campaign in third but his score of 17 – a full 12 behind 2016 Trial125 champion Gandola and four adrift of France ’ s Ferrer – sealed the deal .
“ I ’ m speechless ,” said Martyn . “ It ’ s been an awesome day and I didn ’ t make it easy for myself but I ’ m so happy to be on top . I ’ d just like to thank my family and the TRRS team – there are
VOL . 6 ISSUE 11 - NOVEMBER 2021 // PAGE 71