Premier class title within Bou’s grasp after day one of TrialGP of the Netherlands

With his nineteenth and twentieth consecutive race wins of the season in the bag, Toni Bou (Montesa) will start tomorrow’s second day of competition at the TrialGP of the Netherlands – the sixth and penultimate round of the 2026 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship – with one hand on the premier TrialGP title, while Arnau Farré (Sherco) and Harison Skelton (Scorpa) both edged closer to the crowns in Trial2 and Trial3 Junior.

Entirely man-made, the Zelhem course – comprising huge, imposing boulders and giant concrete slabs and pipes – was challenging from the outset following heavy rain the previous day that continued into the night. However, Bou – who on Friday had topped the Super Test to determine starting position – took everything in his stride and after early challenges in the opening race from his compatriots Gabriel Marcelli (Montesa) and Jaime Busto (Beta), who lie second and third in the title fight, had fallen away the record-breaking champion ran out a comfortable winner on a total of nine.Since 2023 the battle for silver in the premier class has been decided between Marcelli and Busto and this year’s competition is no different with Busto – who trailed Marcelli by eight points at the start of the day – reducing the deficit to his rival when he came home in second on seventeen, just one mark ahead of Miquel Gelabert (Honda) on the RTL Electric machine.Marcelli completed the all-Spanish top four on a total of twenty-four before an eleven-mark gap toBritain’s Harry Hemingway (Beta) who in turn was seven ahead of veteran Italian Matteo Grattarola (Beta).Timed Super Pole to decide the starting order for the Final was a battle of nerves with Busto going first and setting a time that stood until Bou – who started last – stole the win by just under a second, but with the sections easing as they dried, a three on the opening hazard compared to a clean by Hemingway and single marks from Grattarola, Marcelli, Busto and Britain’s Jack Peace (Sherco) put the defending champion at an immediate disadvantage.However, one of the cornerstones of Bou’s remarkable career has been the way he thrives on pressure and he completed the next four sections without further loss to head into the Super Final just one mark behind Marcelli and three ahead of Busto who collected a maximum when he broke a tape in the fifth section.Grattarola was tied with Busto after the Final, with Hemingway and Peace both on seven, but maximums on the technical rock steps of the opening section of the Super Final by Marcelli, Grattarola and Peace reshuffled the leaderboard as Busto and Hemingway went clean and Bou took a dab.Once in the lead, Bou never looked back and despite adding a maximum to his total it was effectively game over as he ended the race on nine with Grattarola emerging as his main challenger on sixteen, one clear of Busto who lost ground with a five two sections from the end.“It feels amazing today to have won both races,” said Bou.“Tomorrow is another day and I will be fighting to the end.”Marcelli ended the race on the same score as Busto but lost out on a tie-break with Hemingway’s total of twenty-two good enough for another solid fifth, five clear of Gelabert.

Arnau Farré at the 2026 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship, in Zelhem © Future7Media

Having seized the points lead in Trial2 just six days ago at the TrialGP of France, Farré had the advantage of starting at the back of the field having won the Super Test and the twenty-eight-year-old Spaniard carried the momentum he built in Cahors into the opening race that he won on a total of eleven, four clear of Britain’s George Hemingway (Beta).Spain’s Alex Canales (Montesa), who until France had led the series from the opening race of the campaign, was one adrift of Hemingway in third as he lost more ground on Farré with Gerard Trueba (Beta) fourth on twenty, three ahead of Britain’s Harry Turner (Sherco).Race two saw Hemingway turn the tables on Farré, finishing on six to defeat the series leader by a single mark with Canales again third with his score of twelve giving him a four-mark cushion over David Fabian (Beta) from the Czech Republic with French rider Benoit Bincaz (Electric Motion) completing the top five on seventeen.“I am very happy with the win,” said Farré. “The sections were easier than I expected after yesterday’s rain and the points are good for the championship, although there is still a long way to go.”For the series’ youngest riders,the Netherlands marks the conclusion of the Trial3 Junior championship and with Skelton – who was second in Friday’s Super Test behind Spain’s Oriol Garcia Campano (Sherco) – starting the day locked together on points with Italy’s Fabio Mazzola, it was a battle that looked destined to go all the way to the wire.However, Marco Laure (Beta) clearly had not read the script and the young German – a distant fourth in the standings – took command of the opening race to winon eleven, six clear ofsecond-placed Skelton and eight ahead of Max Dance (Scorpa) with Mazzola’s title hopes suffering a blow when he finished back in seventh on thirty-one after coming off worst in a three-way tie-break for fifth.Skelton then tightened his grip on the title with victory in race two on a score of five, only one clear of Mazzola – who is now eleven points in arrears – with Germany’s Oscar Wuensch third on seven, one ahead of Laure with Norwegian Patrick Bjørnland Larsen (Sherco) fifth on twelve.“It’s been a good day, although in the first race I had a few tense moments,” said Skelton. “I’ve got a good lead going into tomorrow so I’ll just try to keep my feet up, do my best and I’ll see if I can secure the title.”

The action from day two of the TrialGP of the Netherlands gets under way at 09:00 (local time).

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