Of all the many disciplines in motorcycling, foot-up trials riding is possibly the most difficult. Tony Bou is the best in the world and what he can do with a motorcycle often defies the laws of physics.

What Tony Bou Can Do With A Motorcycle Shouldn't Be Possible

Do you remember in the movie On Any Sunday, Malcolm Smith is shown playing around on his trials bike before winning yet another Gold Medal in the International Six Day's Trial?

Like everything in motorcycling, trials riding - often called foot-up trials because the idea is not to put a foot down anywhere or any time - has developed to a point where seemingly nothing is impossible.

Of course, it is advances in trials bike design and components that have permitted a lot of the progress but you can't get away from the fact that a motorcycle is only as good as the rider who is controlling it and, just as in downhill mountain bike riding, the inventiveness of the riders has reached new heights.

If you don't know who Tony Bou is, then you should read this extract from Wikipedia:

"Antoni Bou i Mena is a Spanish professional motorcycle trials rider. He has been the outdoor FIM Trial World Championship champion from 2007 to 2020, and the indoor one also from 2007 to 2020. With these 29 world titles, he is already the most successful rider in history (15 outdoor and 14 indoor) surpassing Dougie Lampkin (7 outdoor and 5 indoor) and also surpassing Jordi Tarrés who is third with 7 outdoor titles. At the age of 20 years and 5 months, Bou was the second youngest rider ever to win the World Indoor Title, and the youngest to do it on a 4-stroke motorbike."

29 world titles! It does beg the question, what have his rivals been doing the past 14 years? Put it another way: in the 163 outdoor events from 2007 to 2021, he won 116 and was off the podium only three times, and in those he was in fourth! In the 62 indoor events, he has only been off the podium once, in sixth place. It's a miracle anyone else bothers to turn up!

So, sit back ands enjoy the ridiculous skills of this champion among champions. And bear in mind that he's doing this for fun here: no competition involved!