After a four-week break in the schedule, the 2026 Hertz FIM Trial World Championship fires back into life this coming weekend (12-14 June) with the TrialGP of Andorra and following recent rule adjustments and with Trial3 Junior competitors joining the series for the first time this season – plus, of course, the greatest Trial riders on the planet in action – fans can look forward to an excitement-packed event.
• TrialGP of Andorra set for Sant Julià de Lòria this weekend
• Toni Bou, Berta Abellan and Alex Canales defend series leads
• Trial3 Junior joins the programme for first time this season
A regular stop on the TrialGP calendar with eight editions in the last ten years, the event is based in Sant Julià de Lòria in the stunning Pyrenean principality and returns to the calendar following a year away. Experienced riders will be well aware of the difficulties of performing at altitude on a course that at its highest point is over sixteen-hundred metres above sea level, but the huge rocks and severely steep, wooded mountain slopes are still guaranteed to test even the world’s best riders.
Following the opening round in Japan last month, a number of adjustments have been made to fine-tune the new rules introduced at the start of the year for the TrialGP class and all TrialGP riders will start Race Two with Super Pole with scores now carried across from the Final to the Super Final. In addition, all TrialGP riders will participate in the Final and Super Final and in Super Pole riders’ times will be the second deciding factor in the event of a tie after the traditional number of point penalties criteria. For the first time, Trial2 and Trial3 Junior competitors will join TrialGP and TrialGP Women riders in the Super Test to close Friday’s riding action.
In control following his double win in Japan, Spain’s defending champion Toni Bou (Montesa) is a resident of Andorra and will be aiming to use his knowledge of the challenging landscape to full effect. Having won both days the last time the series visited here in 2024 – and with maximum points in the bank after his victories in mid-May at Mobility Resort Motegi – the thirty-nine-year-old will be a tough rider to beat as he chases an incredible twentieth consecutive title.
Bou’s main opposition is expected to come from his compatriots Jaime Busto (Beta) and Gabriel Marcelli (Montesa), although veteran Italian Matteo Grattarola (Beta) has started the season in fine form with a podium on day one in Japan and will be keen for a repeat performance now the series has returned to Europe.
Fans will also get a ringside seat to watch the progress of Britain’s Harry Hemingway (Beta) in his first season in the top-flight, while Spanish star Miquel Gelabert (Honda) will continue his quest to put an electric machine on the premier class podium for the first-ever time and former Trial2 champion Sondre Haga from Norway will make his debut at the highest level.
It is closer in TrialGP Women where defending champion Berta Abellan (Scorpa) was the top scorer over both days in Japan, but the twenty-six-year-old Spaniard can expect strong challenges from rivals including the Italian pairing of Alessia Bacchetta and Andrea Sofia Rabino (Beta) as well as the Czech Republic’s Denisa Pechackova and Alice Minta (Beta) who currently heads the sizeable British contingent.
A five-time FIM silver medallist until her breakthrough title last season, Abellan recorded a remarkable faultless performance in the opening race on day two in Japan before being defeated by Bacchetta in race two and fans can expect more adrenalin-fuelled action this coming weekend in a class that is simply too close to call.
Just one round in and the Trial2 class is also shaping up to be a classic, season-long fight after Spain’s Alex Canales (Montesa) emerged from Japan with the series lead with his one-four scores giving him a slender two-point advantage ahead of Francesco Titli (Montesa) from Italy who went four-two.
Among the pre-season favourites, Spain’s Arnau Farré (Sherco) is a further eight points adrift in third and after taking victory on the opening day here in 2024 the twenty-seven-year-old will be keen for more of the same, although Britain’s George Hemingway (Beta) and Billy Green (Scorpa) – who currently sit fourth and fifth after the opening round – are both capable of spoiling his plans.
Green, the champion in 2023, ran two-two in Andorra in 2024 and after taking victory on day two in Japan will be determined to maintain this momentum and resist the challenges of a chasing field that also includes his compatriot Jack Dance who finished on the podium on day one in Japan.
With last year’s Trial3 winner Ryon Land (Sherco) graduating to the Trial2 class in 2026, there will be a new champion this season and there is no shortage of talent among the series’ youngest competitors with an entry that is packed with potential.
Going on last season’s form, Britain’s Harison Skelton (Scorpa) – who was second behind Land in 2025 – should start as one of the favourites, but he will have to contend with an exciting mixture of series newcomers along with a selection of last season’s leading riders including the Italian pairing of Fabio Mazzola and Alessandro Amé (Beta).
The action from Andorra is scheduled to get under way at 17:30 (local time) on Friday (12 June) with the Super Test for TrialGP, TrialGP Women, Trial2 and Trial3 Junior before the points-scoring action begins at 08:30 (local time) the following day.