The 2012 FIM X-Trial World Championship will enter its penultimate chapter in Milan, Italy this Saturday. Six could be the magic number for Toni Bou - Respol Montesa who currently sits on the stop spot, thirty-four points clear of his nearest rival Albert Cabestany - Sherco. Having won all of the five rounds of the series to date, Bou looks odds on favourite to make it six wins in a row in Milan. Six is also the minimum number of points (the equivalent to fifth place) Bou actually needs to secure his sixth consecutive FIM Indoor / X-Trial World Championship this weekend.
Albert Cabestany
The all too familiar battle to be 'the best of the rest’ stepped up a level in Majorca last Sunday and we can expect it to be equally as fierce in Milan as the series draws near its close. Adam Raga - Gas Gas will be aiming to pull back some points having not only been overtaken by his arch rival, Albert Cabestany in Palma, but having also missed out on a podium spot to Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Montesa for the second time this season.
With only three championship points separating Cabestany and Raga and with Fujinami currently on a charge, it would seem that both second and third spots are still very much up for grabs.
Elsewhere Jeroni Fajardo - Beta will be working hard to maintain his position on the leader board. Fifth in the current standings Fajardo now sits only two points ahead of Loris Gubian - Gas Gas after having failed to even make it through to the final in any of the five rounds to date. Gubian will have his own plan and will be aiming to overtake Fajardo in the general standings whilst Michael Brown - Gas Gas will no doubt be hoping to make it through to the semi-final (top-six) having only done so once so far this series.
Loris Gubian
Alfredo Gomez - Montesa has chosen to bow out early from the 2012 FIM X-Trial World Championship and will be replaced by fellow Spanish rider, Pol Tarres - Jotagas both in Milan this weekend and at the final round in Paris at the end of the month. Gomez finishes his campaign on eight points and in eighth spot, but is likely to be overhauled by Tarres in the coming weeks.
At eighteen-years-old, Tarres is now the youngest permanent rider in the competition. Tarres has already had two outings this season having been selected as the wild card entrant in both Marseille and Madrid, and consequently will carry forward the five championship points he has already collected.
Two wild card riders have been invited to take part in this Saturday’s event at the Mediolanum Forum Assago in Milan - Spanish rider Daniel Oliveras - Ossa and Giacomo Saleri – Beta from Italy.
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