Toni Bou and Repsol Honda Team kick off the 2018 X-Trial season in Vendée, France

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The 2018 FIM X-Trial World Championship gets underway a few weeks ahead of the New Year in France this weekend. Toni Bou is set to start the defence of his eleventh indoor title.

Vendespace in La Roche sur Yon, France will be the scene of the first round of the 2018 FIM X-Trial World Championship, with Repsol Honda Team and Toni Bou on a mission to retain the number one plaque emblazoned on the Montesa Cota 4RT.

Bou will seek to hold on to his indoor world crown in a season which will feature eight events – more than in last year’s. The 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.

The inspection of the six sections is due to take place at 09:00 on the Sunday of the race on December 3rd. The event will start at 16:00 with the presentation of the riders. The final podium is expected to be held at 19:30.

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
26 January 2018	Zénith de Strasbourg	Strasbourg	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

Toni Bou

We are starting the 2018 championship just a couple of weeks after finishing our 2017 season which went so well. 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.