Toni Bou Seeks 12th-Straight Indoor Trials Title : 2018 X-Trail Begins

Toni Bou Enters 2018 X-Trial

Toni Bou Awaits 2018 X-Trial

When the 2018 X-Trial season begins December 3 in Vendée, France, Repsol Honda’s Toni Bou will begin chasing a 12th-straight indoor title.

Bou claimed his 11th-straight title after winning every event in 2017, and he’ll look to repeat that for the 2018 season aboard his Montesa Cota 4RT. But this season will be a bit different, and grows to eight events vs four in 2017.

Though a 2018 series, the action begins a month earlier at Vendespace in La Roche sur Yon, France. This will be the first of eight X-Trial (also known as Indoor Trial) events.

Toni Bou Enters 2018 X-Trial

For 2018, the X-Trail format has also undergone some changes, this time with three phases to determine the competition’s eventual winner.

The first phase – an initial qualifying round – will be fought out in among the nine participating riders in groups of three. The top six go on to the next round – a semi-final – where only the best of each of the two groups will go through to dispute the grand final.

“We are starting the 2018 championship just a couple of weeks after finishing our 2017 season which went so well,” Toni Bou says. “We have not had much time to prepare for the X-Trial which is why we have to be really careful and not slip up in the first event.

“There are many changes because the regulations and format have been changed for this season, but as always, we will have to give it our best shot. You can’t make mistakes because it can mean losing a lot of points for the championship. There will be twice as many races as last year, but the format doesn’t allow for errors either. The indoor I like a lot, but we will have to see if all the changes introduced will be positive for the championship.”

Repsol Honda's Toni Bou to 2018 X-Trial

2018 X-Trial Calendar

  • 3 December 2017: Vendéspace, Vendée, France
  • 13 January 2018: Sud de France Arena, Montpellier, France
  • 19 January 2018: Zénith de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
  • 4 February 2018: Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain
  • 8 March 2018: CD San Pablo, Seville, Spain
  • 17 March 2018: Accord Hotels Arena, Paris, France
  • 29 March 2018: Budapest Sport Arena, Budapest, Hungary