What is the Trial des Nations?
The Trial des Nations (TdN for short) was conceived in Europe in 1983 as a sort of “Olympics” of trials motor sports. The intent was to bring the best trials riders from each country together to compete as a team rather than individually. This TdN is the pinnacle of trials competition and is held after the last round of the World Championship Trials Series.
There are both Men's and Women's teams, and each country picks teams consisting of four men and three women. These individuals are typically the top ranked riders in their country. The scoring is based on the team total with the best 3 total scores counted for the men and best 2 for the women. The individual scores are intentionally not made public to genuinely encourage team effort.
Each year, the TdN is hosted by a different country. Each host country feels a tremendous amount of honor and pride knowing that they are hosting the best of the best in the trials world. Even countries that do not compete in the World Championship Series make a special effort to attend this prestigious event.
The organizing body, the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM), made a very significant change in 1995. They recognized that they could not grow the sport having only a single-competition class structure, given that the majority of entrants were not professional trials riders. The FIM added a second, less competitive class called the “B” class, with the “A” class being intended for the top riders of the world. There are typically 9 countries entered in this prestigious “A” class, and about 14 countries in the “B” class.
The FIM’s addition of this second class allowed the majority of the countries' teams to compete on a more level field, with individuals of similar abilities. The American team moved into this class in 1995. Then, after a successful year in 2007, the American team was moved into the premier “A” class. America’s team climbed closer to the podium in 2007 with an all-time best finish of 6th place.
In 2007, the TdN was held on the Isle of Man. In 2008, the TdN will be held in the small country of Andorra,
on the border between Spain and France.