The Repsol rider won the third and final championship event today in the Czech Republic
Today, Saturday, Laia Sanz won her ninth consecutive Women’s European Trial Championship, after topping the third and final scoring event. At the Tanval track in the Czech Republic -where two years ago she similarly added to her outstanding list of achievements-, the Repsol rider only had to finish fourth, but kept her mistakes to a minimum in a trial that once again presented few difficulties.
True to her character, the multiple champion completed the first lap without penalty points. On the second lap she was once again the best, picking up just five points which was enough to ensure victory and leave her unbeaten in European Championship events since August 2002.
With the continental honours assured once again, the next goal for Laia Sanz is to claim what would be her tenth world title. This opportunity will come next Saturday, September 4, at Kramolin, also in the Czech Republic.
Biography
Laia Sanz has been riding now for 20 years, and has a long list of titles to show for it. Laia Sanz has been riding bikes for 20 years and has a long list of honours to show for her dedication. She began riding at thew age of 4 close to her home in Corbera de Llobregat, Barcelona. There and then she decided to dedicate her efforts to a sport that was almost exclusively for men, although she got her first title at the age of 12, something that quickly attracted attention from fans and followers of this sport.
In 1992 she competed for the first ever time and in 1997 got her first victory. From then on Laia`s progress has been constant, as seen from her nine world titles in Women`s Trial, seven of them consecutive between 2000 – 2006, plus the two she has won in the last two years(2008 – 2009). She made her debut in the Repsol Montesa-HRC team in the 2004 season and since then Laia has won everything possible in her category. At the moment her objectives are to get some good classifications in the top category, possible as she receives constant support from her teammates Toni Bou & Takahisa Fujinami.
Non-stop effort, hard work and a more and more refined technique are what have let her tackle the 2010 season with the ambition of continuing to achieve all her objectives. She is always ready to beat records in the women`s category and to put her male rivals in difficulties. Between races, in the little free time she has between competitions, Laia enjoys listening to music and other sports.
Laia Sanz
“I have now achieved my first goal of the season, but this doesn’t mean I can relax in the slightest. I’m still very aware of what happened three years ago in the World Championship decider, and I have no intention of going through that again. I’m now fully concentrated on next Saturday, and conquering a new world title. Today I suffered in the second lap, because it was a really simple trial, and it would be difficult to make up for any mistakes. In the only complicated zone, the mud, I dropped three points that I knew could jeopardize the victory. I knew I only needed to come fourth to ensure the title, but I still wanted to be champion by winning all three scoring events”.
