Laia Sanz

THE COMEBACK QUEEN!

Laia Sanz (GASGAS) added to her legacy as the most successful female trial rider of all time when, following a seven-year absence from the sport, she staged a triumphant return this season and claimed an amazing fourteenth Hertz FIM Trial World Championship individual title in the TrialGP Women class.

The thirty-five-year-old was the first-ever TrialGP Women champion all the way back in 2000 and went on to win thirteen world crowns in fourteen years before switching to rallying in 2014 where she has forged a formidable reputation in grueling events such as the notorious Dakar Rally.

Sanz’s 2021 TrialGP Women campaign got off to a great start with victory on the opening day of the Italian TrialGP at Tolmezzo – her first trial at the highest level since September 2013.

Defending champion Emma Bristow (Sherco) from Britain struck back on day two and again three weeks later at Charade in France, but Sanz took another day win in Spain before wrapping up the title at the final round – the Portuguese TrialGP – at Gouveia in mid-September.

Sanz ended her season in November when she won her sixth FIM Women’s Enduro World Championship title before starting preparations for the Dakar Rally in January. With a best-ever finish of ninth achieved in 2015 – Laia remains the highest placed female motorcycle racer in the history of the infamous event.

Palmares

FIM TrialGP Women World Champion – 2000 to 2006, 2008 to 2013, 2021
7 Trial des Nations Women titles – 2000, 2002, 2008, 2010 to 2012, 2021