On The Pegs April 2019 - Volume 4 - Issue 4 | Page 104

On The Pegs
Bou´s direct rival for victory in Marseille was
Jeroni Fajardo (Gas Gas), who progressed from
Heat One in sensational fashion by countback
after he and Adam Raga (TRRS) were tied. But
Fajardo was unable to complete any of the
demanding Grand Final sections, and Bou
already had victory on the night sewn up with
a clean Section Five – his third completed
section of the lap. Fajardo, though, could
be satisfied with his best result since 2015, a
runner-up position also moving him back into
the fight for a world number three ranking
ahead of the final 2019 Round.
Adam Raga, meanwhile, saw his fading
Championship hopes extinguished for an-
other year against Bou´s dominance, but it
was Fajardo´s qualification at his expense that
doomed the TRS rider. Raga could only keep
the title fight alive by beating Bou in Marseille,
so his victory in the third-place Play-Off was
of little consolation, although it does also
confirm that he retains his world number two
status for another season.
Raga´s success in the Consolation Final was
secured by four marks over Miquel Gelabert,
who made it through as top qualifier from
the opening Round but missed out in Heat
Two against Toni Bou. Gelabert, though, did
enough in a crucial Section Five to eliminate
Jaime Busto (Gas Gas) and claim his best finish
of the 2019 season so far. Home representa-
tive Benoit Bincaz was the other rider who
failed to make the cut in Round Two, his four
consecutive failures at the start of the lap rul-
ing him out of further contention in fifth.
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