Podium for Dutch Team at Motocross of Nations

The Dutch Motocross of Nations team consisting of Jeffrey Herlings, Glenn Coldenhoff and Brian Bogers scored a podium finish at the Motocross of Nations for the second year in succession. On a muddy track at Matterley Basin, the Dutch triumvirate finished behind the victorious French team for podium honours.

Jeffrey Herlings won the Open Class with a double victory. In the first heat, he held the early lead, but crashed, dropping him to second. He recovered to regain the lead from Romain Febvre. In the second heat, he lost the connection to the two leaders, after having struggled a while to pass Belgian Jeremy van Horebeek. He quickly closed the gap once he had passed. He managed ot pass Febvre again, but came just short of passing race leader Max Anstie. He did finish first of the Open Class bikes, claiming that individual victory. “I am not really happy. I would have loved to have taken the overall victory with the team, and also to have won the last race. My second half of the season has been very strong, and I think I have established myself as one of the fastest riders. That gives me confidence for next year.”

Brian Bogers finished fifth in the MX2 class. With a superb showing in the first heat, he finished third. In the second heat, some wheelspin off the start dropped him down the field initially. Riding with the big banger Open Class bikes, he had trouble making passes, but still managed to finish ninth. “If you had offered us the second place on Friday, I would have signed then and there,”he said. “Of course we would have loved to have won, but the French team was immensely strong and they did not make any mistakes.”

Glenn Coldenhoff had a good start in race one and was mixed in with the leading group. He dropped a few places on the slippery circuit, and finished eighth. In the second heat, he had troubles off the start, similar to teammate Brian Bogers. He recovered well and again worked his way into the top ten. A mistake late in the race dropped him to 11th, for 8th overall in the MXGP class. “I am not really happy. After having had to toss my goggles in the first heat, things got difficult. I had a bad start in race two due to wheelspin, and then I was in the midst of the pack which made it difficult. I had a difficult day, but I am very happy that our team finished on the podium again. ”

With second in the overall classification, the Dutch team had a lot to celebrate. “The riders were disappointed, but in my view they did well. Conditions were very difficult today and the French team was very strong,” coach Marcel Hartman said.

Final Nations Classification:
1 Team France 20 pnt
2 Team Holland 31 pnt
3 Team Great Britain 32 pnt