The dominant of the trial. From the perfect weekend in Japan’s mud to training with Josep Garcia and friendship with Marc Marquez; The “school” of Andorra, the work with the Mshder and the reading of the areas in 60 seconds. He talks about his bike, but also at the origins at the Palau in Barcelona. And it closes with a color note “we will make Guinness update, it is stopped at 16 titles”
In the trial, those who are stronger wins does not win: those who touch the soil with their feet wins while exceeding obstacles that seem impossible, walls, wet trunks, viscid stones, almost vertical ramps, within a minute. Several times and for two laps on each race day. It is a sport of balance and constant relationship with the clutch. In this universe, For almost twenty years, the reference has been called Toni Bou, which at 39 has collected 38 world titlesI, almost one per year on average, since he was born. On the phone it is calm, concrete. “Perfection does not exist – he immediately makes it clear – he chases himself: one obstacle at a time, one detail at a time”.
Postcard from Japan
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We ask him to synthesize the last season in an image and Bou does not hesitate: “Japan, in Honda’s house. A lot of mud and two perfect days. In those conditions everything slips: you have to make clutch and gas work as a single gesture. There I felt good, I checked the race as I wanted “. It is the summary of a philosophy that he summarizes in a nutshell:” I do not look at the records, I look at tomorrow. Young people are strong, and every year you have to raise the level “. For those coming from other disciplines, the trial is a hidden gym. “The touch you learn with the trial you need everywhere, even in MotoGP, and Marc Marquez knows it well – he explains -. Read better the lines, you become more precise in positioning the wheel, advances what the bike will do”. It is no coincidence that champions of other worlds train with him: “With Josep Garcia (the five -time enduro world champion, editor’s note) I learned a lot on the discipline of work: it makes you understand why it is where it is. And with Marc Marquez (who needs no introduction) I have a great friendship. When you turn with people like that There are always new things to learn, and you carry them behind. Even if you are already a number 1“.
catalunia magic land
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Why do so many phenomena of two wheels bloom in Catalunia? Bou rejects magical recipes, there is nothing in the air or water of that region: “When you grow near very strong pilots it seems more feasible to get there. You train with the best, they pull you up. It is an ecosystem that self -fulfillment.” Another place that shaped Toni Bou is Andorra, where he lives and trains: “It often rains here: mud is my school. In the mud you learn to float when there is no grip, to be sweet and determined together. That sensitivity then follows you everywhere.”
confidence in the minder
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But how does a race really work? “We enter an ‘area’ – a short path with obstacles – e We have an exact minute to complete it – tells -. With mine minder (the assistant that all drivers have available during the race, editor’s note) We always discuss a line A and an option two: if the entrance does not start well, change immediately. And he must know where I intend to pass if the original plan is not good, since It must be ready to take the bike on the event of a fall from a high obstacle. And in 60 seconds everything passes very fast. “The Mster, on board the area, is a companion and mirror:” Talk to me, it reminds me how long I still have available, it is much more than my shadow. It is a compressed chess game “. His motorcycle is a montesa that any motorcyclist would struggle to distinguish from a standard one, because all the trials are minimalist. Bou” translates “the” thus: “The clutch is more bad – that is, more ready – because I have to detach and reattach with the precision of millimeters. It weighs little, around 70 kg, in compliance with the regulationand the engine brake is minimal, it is not the classic one of a four -stroke engine: I want a clean sensation, without sweating “. Not everything, however, makes the difference for those who are under the top level:”Standard frame and swingarm, compared to mine, would make little difference for an amateur. And if I had to take away an advantage to equalize the game, to give my opponents an extra chance, I would say the front fork: there the difference feels like “.
less kg, plus show
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And where can the technique still grow? Here Bou lights up: “Definitely the weight. We remained at 70 kg: if manufacturers were allowed to go down to 60, sport would change. Mopes from higher detention, faster corrections, new possible lines. It would be a bestial evolution. “The other frontier is electric, but with a detail to be perfected:” You need a real clutch. The electric motor has immediate shot, but in the trial magic is not only the torque: It is dosing it to the cent. Until that mechanical connection is there, it will remain a limit “.
Historical motorcycles can surprise
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The past, for Bou, is not nostalgia: it is a gym. “A Monasa Cota 348 led with the current style, today It allows you to do things that at the time of Rathmell or Karlson, the Montesa champions of the seventies, did not make themselves, and they didn’t even imagine themselves. If you understand the right movement, you can overcome steps that seemed out of reach “. There is affection when it talks about the father’s bike:” The Honda RTL 200 has little power but a beautiful stability: with her you really have fun “. And there is a dream in the drawer:”The RTL 360 from World Cup, that of Eddie Lejeune (which can be considered the Toni Bou of 40 and more years ago, editor’s note) I have never tried it. I’m sure I would be fine with it. “How did all this come from a boy sitting in the stands of the Palau Sant Jordi.” The indoor of Barcelona turned on my spark. At the time I made a bicycle trial, and I saw Jordi Tarrés and the others, who made me dream. With the trial bike I immediately understood that that type of gesture was natural for me. I immediately felt it was my sport. But I didn’t think of winning so much and for so many years “.
only clear rules
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Chapter Regulations: every technical sport is a loose threatening. Bou asks for simplicity. “We need a clear and stable regulation, which people understand. The trial is already the sport of the engine most difficult to understand for those who are not a passionate: if we change the rules every six months, we confuse those who look. Stability helps athletes and public. “It is also a question of storytelling:”If the look understands what happens in the area, it is passionate about. There is no need to upset: it is necessary to explain and make legible “.
plan b
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Bou shields itself when we call it the biggest ever. “There have been samples that opened roads. I was lucky enough to arrive at a time when the technique and training exploded. I have always tried to improve a detail a day. “And there is the meaning of its longevity: not titanism, but daily craftsmanship.” The most difficult thing is to start over every morning. But it’s also the most beautiful. “In the end, what is the trial for him?” It is control of chaos. Know that in a minute the forecasts can be distorted, and for this you must always have a plan B. The head guides the hand, and the hand the bike. If you frighten you, you lose. If you get too emotion, you lose. Those who remain lucid wins “. It is the rule that accompanies him for a lifetime, from the Palau of Barcelona to the mud of Japan, from dreams with the dad’s RTL to today’s refined forks. And tomorrow?” Tomorrow is tried again – closes -. The perfection is not there, but it is worth chasing it. “
Guinness can wait
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Then there is a curious detail, which crosses his career as a out of tune note: the Guinness World Records. “You told me that in the Guinness database there are still sixteen outdoor titles … I didn’t know – smiles -. I speak with the team and I will ask to update it. “The paradox is evident: while he lengthens the strip, the narrative does not keep up. But his reaction explains the character: no emphasis, only an” ok, we settle “and return to training.
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