Berta Abellán wants to create a trial school for girls

“I would love to create a trial school with girls.” Berta Abellán, a two-time TrialGP champion, has placed that project at the centre of her ambitions away from competition. The Barcelona rider, born in 1999, has remained committed to a discipline she discovered at the age of four, inspired in particular by Laia Sanz.

Abellán says her earliest memory dates back to the La clau motorcycle club, alongside her father. She remembers riding a 50cc Boy behind him on outings that felt like excursions, although she says that memory may come from a video she has watched many times. Her father, a trial enthusiast who had never competed, first taught her sister to ride, but she did not take to it; he then passed the passion on to Berta.

The rider cannot say exactly why she liked trial. She suggests it may be the most accessible discipline among motorcycle sports and that it also matched her father’s tastes. “It is the sport I have always had in my blood, the one I have practised the most,” she says. She tried enduro once and found it very enjoyable, but prefers the calm and technical demands of trial, where concentration allows her to forget everything else.

She cannot pinpoint when she realised she could go far. However, she remembers reaching podiums in Spanish championships, then winning the European title in 2018. That victory made her see new possibilities, with support starting to arrive and the prospect of continuing without her parents having to fund so much of her path, all the way to the World Championship.

Laia Sanz remains her role model. Abellán describes her as a true reference point, her idol since childhood, and as the person who showed other women the sacrifice required by the sport. She admires her perseverance and fighting spirit. When Sanz returned to the World Championship in 2021, Abellán trained with her on some occasions and says she was struck by her mindset, to the point of wanting that same mental strength one day.

Enduro also appeals to her, but Abellán does not want to rush into it. She says she first needs a stable situation and to feel good, then to try enduro at the end of a season. If she enjoys it and has the opportunity, she would like to enter a race, but for now only envisages that discipline. She also notes that Laia Sanz is good at everything she does, while she herself does not know whether that would be the case.

Her second TrialGP title had a confirming dimension, in her view. “That was somewhat my intention,” she acknowledges. Yet she insists the win was far from easy, despite people saying she was well ahead of the field. She believes the second crown was even harder than the first because the level is rising and the riders are getting closer. In her eyes, it validated her first title.

The two-time champion says she can now make a living from her activity thanks to her partners, especially IATI, her main sponsor. Winning races enables her to earn a living, although not at a footballer’s level, she stresses. Above all, she says she feels very fortunate to be able to compete and work in the field she dreamed of. She adds that she does not earn as much as many other athletes, but values being able to train every day and prepare in the best conditions. Scorpa, her motorcycle brand, also gives her major support, meaning she has no concerns about her bike, in her words.

Abellán has the same admiration for Toni Bou. She praises his work, perseverance and motivation, saying he approaches every title as if it were his first, fights until the end and celebrates every success with the same intensity. She also highlights his humility and the way he treats everyone equally, calling him “a 10 out of 10” both as a person and as a rider. She believes he can target 50 titles and says his performances, even when injured, give an idea of his potential without injury.

For Abellán, the issue of women’s trial visibility is straightforward: she wants the same exposure as men receive. “Since it is difficult for everyone, at least it should be equal,” she says. In her view, when a male rider is given visibility, women should receive it too.

She cites indoor trial as a major tool. This year there has been only one event, although that format would allow women’s trial, in her view, to reach audiences that outdoor trial rarely reaches. She would like more indoor meetings. In Barcelona, where a women’s event is held alongside the men’s X-Trial, the format works very well, she says. Seeing women on motorcycles tackling obstacles can matter for a young girl in the stands, even if Abellán stresses that the levels are not directly comparable.

She sees a clear gap between the five or six best male riders in the world and the five or six best female riders, notably because men have many intermediate categories. But she insists on the essential point: women are there. She believes it would be very difficult to one day reach the men’s level, as the pathways have long been different, without that taking anything away from women’s presence.

With that in mind, Abellán takes part in events called Woman’s trial. The concept is to set up five sections in a city and bring together four or five of the world’s best riders, or selected riders, before an audience that can generally attend free of charge. One round took place in Italy and another will probably be held in Japan next year. The aim is to reach more people.

The Catalan rider also competes in a mixed category in the French championship. She faces 13 boys there, alongside one other girl, and says she is in second place this year.

Her school project could be based in Terrassa. If she is to do something for trial, she wants to bring it closer to the city to make it more practical, especially for parents. Many people do not try it because they do not know where to go or because trial areas are too far away and require a trailer or van to transport the motorcycles, she explains. Her idea is to offer in her city what the Cent Peus motorcycle club, near Barcelona, provides: a complete venue where she could pass on her experience to anyone wishing to discover trial.

Abellán also reacted to an advertisement featuring actress Sydney Sweeney, which she says she experienced badly, as did many other sportswomen. She believes sport has done major work to change perceptions of women and regrets that such a campaign has appeared in 2026, as well as the comments surrounding it. Without wanting to give it too much importance or judge the actress’s choices, she says she feels anger and helplessness at a view that still reduces women to image or provocation in motorcycle sports.

She instead points out that the standard of women’s trial is rising sharply and that women are becoming stronger and stronger. For her, image matters little compared with competing. “It is quite sad, but it is also the reality,” she says.

What keeps her in trial remains unchanged: she finds it beautiful both to practise and to watch. She admires Toni Bou, Jaime Busto and the young girls training in León alike, for their level, technique and way of climbing rocks. She values the atmosphere, mutual help and what she considers healthy rivalry in a sport where riders also compete against themselves and where the winner is the one who has performed best. She adds that trial is a very complete sport: riding already builds strength, even though she also goes to the gym to feel better on the motorcycle.