The World Championship is back from its hiatus as we head to the Andorran capital this weekend
This Saturday 5th October from 18:00 local time, the Poliesportiu d’Andorra will come alive again with the excitement of the FIM X-Trial World Championship as Round Five of the 2024 season comes to the capital. The first Round in 244 days following the visit to Geneva at the start of May and our subsequent summer break.
In the early part of this year, Toni Bou (Repsol Honda Trial Team) made a commanding start to his title defence with four consecutive wins, conceding just two Championship points. With each rider’s worst result to be dropped at the end of the season, the biggest score any of Bou’s rivals can now reach is 109 points, and he can take as many as seven from them to reduce that target in Andorra. So a victory for Bou at his home Round would be enough to secure the crown before visits to Tallinn and Pamplona.
Gabriel Marcelli will be doing everything he can to delay his teammate’s march to a record-breaking eighteenth title, having taken one point from Bou last time out at X-Trial Geneva and twice finished second to the sport’s all-time great to sit second in 2024. But Marcelli will also have to look over his shoulder with Jaime Busto (GasGas) just three points behind him. Last year’s world number two trails Marcelli four podiums to three, but impressed as runner-up in Barcelona and Nice.
Further back, Toby Martyn (Montesa) and Benoit Bincaz (Sherco) will attempt to defend their places in the Championship’s top five to secure their participation at X-Trial Tallinn. Adam Raga (Sherco) will be the biggest threat to Bincaz despite missing X-Trial Geneva last time out. Aniol Gelabert (TRRS) and Norwegian Wild Card Sondre Haga on board his electric GasGas TXE will also hope to demonstrate their talent against the world’s best.
The always-demanding and vertiginous sections of Andorra’s ‘bombonera’ await a packed and enthusiastic crowd ahead of what could be a title-deciding night in the fifth Round of the season.
Don’t forget to buy your tickets at https://tickets.x-trial.com/xtrialand or visit www.x-trial.tv to watch live via Video Pass if you can’t make it in person.
