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Toni Bou, the eternal trial champion: "What we are experiencing is unreal"

2022-09-17T19:13:14.968Z


The Piera rider adds his 32nd world title at the age of 35 and hasn't lost a championship since 2007 "I am retiring because I have already seen that it is impossible to defeat him," Takahisa Fujinami joked last year before his imminent farewell. The Japanese, world champion in 2004 and one of the numerous victims of the invincible Toni Bou, ended up getting used to competing for second place in the discipline, which has been dominated without fail by the Piera rider since 2007. Since then, he has


"I am retiring because I have already seen that it is impossible to defeat him," Takahisa Fujinami joked last year before his imminent farewell.

The Japanese, world champion in 2004 and one of the numerous victims of the invincible Toni Bou, ended up getting used to competing for second place in the discipline, which has been dominated without fail by the Piera rider since 2007. Since then, he has won 32 world titles and very few slips: in 260 races he has failed to get on the podium only 6 times, and in total he has already accumulated more than 200 wins.

On the first day of the Italian TrialGP, second position was enough for him to revalidate the outdoor title once again, two and a half weeks after winning the indoor modality.

He has 16 of each.

At 35 years old, he is still surprised at celebrations.

An interview with his sister on Catalunya Ràdio has even moved him.

“It is getting more and more complicated, and maintaining motivation is difficult,” she acknowledges from Ponte di Legno to EL PAÍS.

"What we are experiencing is unreal and at some point I know it will end."

It has crossed his mind more than once what to do when he loses, but he doesn't give it much thought and keeps the fortune that has accompanied him so far: "It would be surreal to complain when it happens, I have a good time doing this, and when this is not the case, I will withdraw”.

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@tonibou_oficial adds his 16th Outdoor Trial World Championship crown in Ponte di Legno (Italy) – 32 in total – when there is still one test left to finish the championship.#ToniBou#GOAT#WorldChampion#EquipoRepsolHonda#RepsolHondaTeamhttps://t.co /X6IDR5vG2I

– Box_Repsol (@box_repsol) September 17, 2022

He started very small in trialsin (now trial bike), something that gave him a physical robustness on which he now bases his empire.

He has also molded, training by training, a technique that allows him to complete his rounds almost without errors, although just before the wing, this Saturday, he suffered an unusual mishap when he slipped down a boulder.

He still has to round the course trying to win tomorrow, although he sees it as difficult after tonight's celebrations.

Age and falls do not forgive, and in recent years the recipe has added a good dose of gym to keep injuries at bay.

Although he hasn't counted them, he knows that he exceeds 300 days on the bike year after year.

More information

Toni Bou: "I need to compete without being the champion"

"For him it's fine, and we can only congratulate him, but for the rest it's desperate," Jordi Tarrés, seven-time world champion and now director of his own team, the Spea Trial Team, admits to this newspaper.

The ex-pilot asks for more measures to equalize the contest and give incentives to the public, but in the past that did not prevent Bou's dominance in the discipline either.

In 2014, the International Motorcycling Federation came to lower the difficulty of some sections to avoid his overwhelming dominance, and not even with those did he stop winning.

His 4T bike, different from the rest, and the most powerful structure in the world at his disposal, are other keys to his success.

"He still has advantages, but if he has been winning for 16 years in a row, he doesn't need them," admit his rivals.

Some of his family and friends have come to Italy, but the champion says that the big party will arrive in Andorra, on October 8, the last round of the X-Trial calendar and also his home for many years.

"Fortunately they are bikers, that's why they understand me and everything is easier," he says of his own.

From his team, an integral part of his success, everything is praise: "The key is to surround yourself with people who help you and trust you, who want the best for you."

Despite the fact that young talents like Jaime Busto or Gabriel Marcelli are coming up strong, he still has a rope for a while.

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Source: elparis

All sports articles on 2022-09-17

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