Dutch Team misses Motocross of Nations Victory in the last lap
The Dutch team, consisting of Jeffrey Herlings, Brian Bogers and Glenn Coldenhoff, came second in this year’s edition of the Motocross of Nations. Until the very end of the final race, it seemed as if victory would swing the way of the Dutch Team for the first time, but a do-or-die pass by French leader Romain Febvre gave victory to the French for the third time in succession.
Jeffrey Herlings, on his first high profile outing on a 450cc machine after clinching his third MX2 world title, rode a barnstormer of a race, winning his category and keeping 8 time world champion Antonio Cairoli behind him. Herlings was the top rider in the Open Class, but also pulled the overall individual honours his way.
Glenn Coldenhoff also rode for all his worth, and kept his place in the top five for a long time in the third and deciding race. At the end, he had to yield to Febvre and Evgeny Brobryshev of Russia. He finished fourth overall in the MXGP class and this were important points for the Dutch team.
The event produced exciting and tense racing. In the ultra-tense final race, which would decide the overall standings, the Dutch team held the lead for a long time. The pendulum swung the way of the American team as Cooper Webb, their sole representative in the race, made his way forward. Webb crashed in the heat of the battle with Febvre, and the French captain then added the cherry on top by passing Tommy Searle in the dying moments of the race to secure victory for France.
Brian Bogers was riding aboard his KTM 250F in the MX2 class. He did well in both motos and started the opening moto inside of the top three in his class. Unfortunately he crashed and finished in twentieth position. He was determined to do better in the second moto and with a fourteenth place he scored some important points for the Dutch team. These results gave him seventh position overall in the MX2 class.
The Dutch team finished second, only one point adrift, which was their best result ever at the event, and the American squad occupied the third step of the podium.
Final Nations Classification:
1 France 29
2 Holland 30
3 USA 33
4 Belgium 36
5 Italy 44
6 Switzerland 44
7 Great Britain 73
8 Australia 76
9 Estonia 93
10 Canada 95
