Bou held his nerve on another low scoring day to see off lap one leader Jeroni Fajardo – Beta who would eventually finish as today's runner up. A mistake early on the second lap meant Fajardo had to endure a drawn out tie-break decider with Albert Cabestany – Sherco to finally earn his second place after the Spanish pairing finished the event on fourteen marks apiece and could only being separated on overall time.

For the second day running it was an all Spanish podium, but this time day one winner, Adam Raga – Gas Gas was absent from the rostrum celebrations when he lost out on his own most cleans tie decider with Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Montesa to be demoted to a damaging fifth spot. As a consequence of Raga's poor showing today, Bou has now opened up a six point lead at the head of the general standings, whilst the next three riders in the series – all from Spain- are all only separated by a single point. 

The organisers faced a difficult call this morning, whether to modify the sections or not in order to increase the severity. However, in the end only small changes were actually made as the predicted rain threatened to do its own damage, but with the  anticipated  storm never arriving, the riders faced another relatively low scoring day. Having been defeated yesterday, these were hardly the conditions Bou was hoping for as it was always going to be hard for him to create an advantage over his rivals, especially when he knew that one mistake could spell disaster as it did yesterday. The reigning champion responded well and absorbed the pressure to take his first victory of the season. 

Alexandre Ferrer – Sherco continued his winning ways as he made it two wins from two starts in the Junior class to open up a healthy ten point lead in the general standings after just one round. Cedric Tempier – Sherco and Benoit Dagnicourt – Beta made it an all-French podium, as they finished second and third respectively on day two. Tempier now holds second spot in the series rankings following his fourth and second positions. Belgium Maxime Warenghien – Gas Gas was fourth today, whilst Pol Tarres – JotaGas from Spain was placed fifth. Tarres is now fourth in the championship points table, just one point behind his compatriot Francesc Moret –Montesa who could only manage sixth spot today.

Norway's Sverre Lundevold – Beta was the surprise and runaway winner of the Youth class today. Ninth yesterday on his World debut, Lundevold produced an outstanding ride today to win by fifteen marks from his team mate Bradley Cox – Beta. French rider Steven Coquelin –Gas Gas leads the Youth standings after the opening two days of his home GP. 

Although Coquelin could not repeat his first day win and only managed to take third place on day two, he holds a one point lead over Britain's Cox who opened his 2012 campaign with two consistent runners up spots and in doing so declared himself a title challenger. Cox recorded the best  lap of the Trial today, his two-mark loss on the second lap being a massive improvement on the thirty marks he dropped on his initial tour.

The next round of the 2012 series will see the FIM Trial World Championship visit Australia for the first time in its long history. This two-day event will take place at the end of May, giving the riders and teams a short break before they head south.

Seventeen year-old Eddie Karlsson - Gas Gas made his debut in the World Pro class at the opening round of the 2012 FIM Trial World Championship held in La Bresse, France earlier today. His arrival amongst the more established elite riders was a strong one too as he took a well-deserved twelfth place on his first outing at this level. Karlsson was eligible to remain in the Youth category this year where he made his mark last season by winning a day of the Italian GP. 

However, rather than fighting against his younger rivals or moving up to the Junior division, the Swedish teenager made the brave decision to move to the premier class and to do battle with likes of Toni Bou and co. Eddie explained more. "I decided I needed to make progress and fast, as we don't have the money to follow the normal route through the classes over several years. I knew it would be a difficult move, but it is a challenge I am looking forward to and even more after today. When I looked at the sections I thought I was going to have all fives, but in the end I had some cleans and some nice rides and I am delighted with my result."

Adam Raga – Gas Gas confirmed his intention to take the fight to reigning champion Toni Bou - Repsol Montesa when he recorded an important win on the opening day of the 2012 FIM Trial World Championship at the French Grand Prix. Raga carved out a slim and single mark advantage over Bou on the first lap and extended that to two marks come the finish to gain the initial lead in the series standings following a totally uncharacteristic five from Bou  in section two on the second lap. 

Albert Cabestany – Sherco produced two consistent lap scores, although a little off the pace of the two front-runners, to claim third place and to make it an all-Spanish podium. Cabestany's rostrum result came as he beat his compatriot Jeroni Fajardo - Beta on a most cleans tie break, Cabestany having had recorded three more than Fajardo over the two laps. 

Takahisa Fujinami - Repsol Montesa completed the top five on a hot and sunny day, but the Japanese former champion was far from happy with his riding as he struggled to find a bike setting to give him the confidence that he needed in the technical hazards.  British riders filled the next two positions with James Dabill – Beta winning his battle with Jack Challoner – Beta, as this duo occupied sixth and seventh places respectively.

Matteo Grattarola - Gas Gas was the highest placed Italian rider on forty-nine marks, this being the same score as Michael Brown - Gas Gas, however the British protagonist was to lose out on the tie break and have to settle for ninth spot to open his 2012 account. Daniel Oliveras – Ossa was the last rider to make into the top ten, as France's great hope of home success.

Loris Gubian - Gas Gas endured a terrible day to end up down in eleventh position after an error filled first lap. One of the best performances of the day was by seventeen yearold Eddie Karlsson – Gas Gas who placed an incredible twelfth on his very first outing in the World Pro class after moving up to the elite category direct from the Youth division.

Alexandre Ferrer – Sherco did his bit to offset Gubian's poor showing, and gave the home fans plenty to cheer about as he romped to a comfortable victory in the Junior class. Ferrer led from start to finish and delivered a faultless second lap to make himself the instant favourite to lift this title later in the season. The battle behind Ferrer was fierce, as Spanish compatriots Pol Tarres – JotaGas and Francesc Moret – Montesa fought it out for the runners up spot. Moret was the eventual victor in this duel as he beat Tarres by a single clean after the pair had tied on sixteen marks apiece. Cedric Tempier – Sherco and Jack Sheppard – Beta took fourth and fifth places respectively.

France also had home success in the Youth class with Steven Coquelin – Gas Gas finishing four marks clear of Britain's Bradley Cox – Beta, who in turn defeated Oriol Noguera – Sherco from Spain by the same margin. Francesco Cabrini  – Beta from Italy and Quentin Carles De Caudemberg – Beta from France rounded out the top five in this category respectively, as the Italian rider missed out on a podium place as he was another victim and loser of a most cleans tie-decider.

The second day of the French Trial GP will take place at the same venue in La Bresse tomorrow, with potential rain forecast, which could drastically change conditions out on the course.

The French riverside town of La Bresse awaits this morning for the start of the 2012 FIM Trial World Championship. Sat in the east of the country, close to the German and Swiss border this alpine dwelling is more used to winter sports and mountain biking, however today will have the honour of opening the 2012 Trial campaign. The sixty-four riders will soon leave the paddock that lines the main street and head up the hill behind the town to the purpose developed Trial Park where fourteen out of the fifteen testing hazards lay in wait.

The scenery from the compact venue at the top of the hill offers stunning views over La Bresse where the final section is situated in the town square. The majority of the hazards feature rocky outcrops on relatively steep bankings that will become increasingly difficult in the case of rain. This facility last hosted a Trial GP back in 1997 and was the home of the FIM Trial des Nations in 2001. Much may have changed in the last decade or so, but everything looks set for La Bresse to deliver yet another World class event, which this time will kick off the 2012 season.