Toni Bou closes in on 40th world trial title after two decades of dominance

Toni Bou is on the verge of achieving the challenge that has driven him through years of competition: winning 40 world titles at the age of 40. The Catalan rider is now close to his 20th outdoor trial crown, which would also give him 40 titles overall.

Bou took control of the first round of the Dutch Trial in Zelhem, adding 40 points to his total. He now has 400 points, compared with 289 for his Montesa Repsol teammate Gabriel Marcelli and 287 for Jaime Busto of Beta.

His advantage grew to 111 points over Marcelli and 113 over Busto. With 80 points still available in the second and final Dutch round, Bou could afford to lose 31 points to Marcelli and 33 to Busto. The article makes clear that he is not expected to surrender that margin.

Bou dominated both races in Zelhem. In Race 1, he collected only nine penalty points, making mistakes in three of the 12 zones. Busto finished with 17 penalty points and Marcelli with 24. Bou again scored nine penalty points in the Superfinal, beating Matteo Grattarola, who had 16, and Busto, who had 17.

Since 2007, Bou has won every outdoor and indoor championship, maintaining an uninterrupted 20-year reign. His record has made the coming title a chance to complete the 40-title milestone he described as an extraordinary challenge.

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It would be an incredible challenge to achieve 40 titles at 40, and now it is not so far away.