The Imperfect Storm

The 73rd Motocross of Nations in the Netherlands was once again an untimely test of men and machines—not to mention a lesson in new media

WORDS: DAVEY COOMBS
PHOTOS: JEFF KARDAS

THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP MIKE TYSON was once asked about the question of strategy in his fights. Iron Mike just shrugged and said, “Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face.” For Team USA at the 73rd Annual FIM Motocross of Nations, that punch in the face came early, and it was a devastating blow. After months of controversy and debate about who even wanted to be on the starting gate at the Assen TT circuit in the sandy North Atlantic region of the Netherlands, and then weeks abroad preparing—and even a hot minute of looking like real contenders for a first win in seven years—the jarring punch came in the second corner of the first moto for MX2/Open riders. That’s when teammates Jason Anderson and Justin Cooper somehow found each other in a pack of 40 riders, splashing around in a deluge of cold, steady rain and heavy sand and crashing together in a heap, tearing the clutch perch off Cooper’s bike, smashing his left hand, and leaving both riders in the back of the pack. Less than 15 seconds after the long-awaited race had finally started, even those back home watching the TV feed (which looked like it was being shot through the periscope of a surfacing submarine) knew Team USA was already knocked out.

The 73rd Motocross of Nations in the Netherlands was once again an untimely test of men and machines—not to mention a lesson in new media

WORDS: DAVEY COOMBS
PHOTOS: JEFF KARDAS

THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP MIKE TYSON was once asked about the question of strategy in his fights. Iron Mike just shrugged and said, “Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face.” For Team USA at the 73rd Annual FIM Motocross of Nations, that punch in the face came early, and it was a devastating blow. After months of controversy and debate about who even wanted to be on the starting gate at the Assen TT circuit in the sandy North Atlantic region of the Netherlands, and then weeks abroad preparing—and even a hot minute of looking like real contenders for a first win in seven years—the jarring punch came in the second corner of the first moto for MX2/Open riders. That’s when teammates Jason Anderson and Justin Cooper somehow found each other in a pack of 40 riders, splashing around in a deluge of cold, steady rain and heavy sand and crashing together in a heap, tearing the clutch perch off Cooper’s bike, smashing his left hand, and leaving both riders in the back of the pack. Less than 15 seconds after the long-awaited race had finally started, even those back home watching the TV feed (which looked like it was being shot through the periscope of a surfacing submarine) knew Team USA was already knocked out.

The 73rd Motocross of Nations in the Netherlands was once again an untimely test of men and machines—not to mention a lesson in new media

WORDS: DAVEY COOMBS
PHOTOS: JEFF KARDAS

THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP MIKE TYSON was once asked about the question of strategy in his fights. Iron Mike just shrugged and said, “Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face.” For Team USA at the 73rd Annual FIM Motocross of Nations, that punch in the face came early, and it was a devastating blow. After months of controversy and debate about who even wanted to be on the starting gate at the Assen TT circuit in the sandy North Atlantic region of the Netherlands, and then weeks abroad preparing—and even a hot minute of looking like real contenders for a first win in seven years—the jarring punch came in the second corner of the first moto for MX2/Open riders. That’s when teammates Jason Anderson and Justin Cooper somehow found each other in a pack of 40 riders, splashing around in a deluge of cold, steady rain and heavy sand and crashing together in a heap, tearing the clutch perch off Cooper’s bike, smashing his left hand, and leaving both riders in the back of the pack. Less than 15 seconds after the long-awaited race had finally started, even those back home watching the TV feed (which looked like it was being shot through the periscope of a surfacing submarine) knew Team USA was already knocked out.

The 73rd Motocross of Nations in the Netherlands was once again an untimely test of men and machines—not to mention a lesson in new media

WORDS: DAVEY COOMBS
PHOTOS: JEFF KARDAS

THE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP MIKE TYSON was once asked about the question of strategy in his fights. Iron Mike just shrugged and said, “Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face.” For Team USA at the 73rd Annual FIM Motocross of Nations, that punch in the face came early, and it was a devastating blow. After months of controversy and debate about who even wanted to be on the starting gate at the Assen TT circuit in the sandy North Atlantic region of the Netherlands, and then weeks abroad preparing—and even a hot minute of looking like real contenders for a first win in seven years—the jarring punch came in the second corner of the first moto for MX2/Open riders. That’s when teammates Jason Anderson and Justin Cooper somehow found each other in a pack of 40 riders, splashing around in a deluge of cold, steady rain and heavy sand and crashing together in a heap, tearing the clutch perch off Cooper’s bike, smashing his left hand, and leaving both riders in the back of the pack. Less than 15 seconds after the long-awaited race had finally started, even those back home watching the TV feed (which looked like it was being shot through the periscope of a surfacing submarine) knew Team USA was already knocked out.

All the event needed to be a classic was some close racing . . . and decent weather.

T

he early winter storm that hit Assen wasn’t a complete surprise. When you go that far north of the equator that late in the season, the weather is a big gamble. As a matter of fact, both the 2017 and ’18 editions of the MXoN, held in Great Britain and Michigan, respectively, were soggy messes. As soon as Holland was announced as host for 2019, everyone knew it would be sandy—that’s all they have in that part of the world. What we didn’t know for sure was that it would be so wet.

We also knew it would be a tall order Team USA to win no matter the weather. We just don’t have a lot of sand tracks on the Lucas Oil Pro Motocross circuit, and the only real sand anyone sees in Monster Energy AMA Supercross is in the trioval at Daytona. The hosting Dutch, having never won this team event despite hosting the very first one back in 1947, would be up for it. After all, they should have won it at RedBud last year, as KTM teammates Jeffrey Herlings and Glenn Coldenhoff swept all three motos between them, but their third member, Calvin Vlaanderen, failed to finish either moto. What Team USA needed against the rest of the world were good starts, consistent top-five finishes, and a little bit of bad luck for the other guys. Instead, they got a punch in the face.

Home & Away

Long before lining up in the Netherlands, the race in general—and Team USA in particular—had become a point of contention for many in America. For riders, selection seems to begin as an honor but then, with time and repeated appearances, it becomes a pressurized chore. Partisan fans, and especially foreign moto media eager to see the very best line up, use the call of national duty to shame riders who decide not to go, ignoring the fact that it’s a difficult and costly undertaking in both time and money. The traditional late-September/early-October date is simply at a bad time for AMA-based riders, whose motocross season ends in late August. With the practically mandatory appearance at Feld Motor Sports’ mid-October Monster Energy Cup, which can come with $1 million for 30 laps of work—by which time factory testing for supercross is in full swing—September is the one month when AMA athletes can take a break. And for veterans like Eli Tomac, Ken Roczen, Cooper Webb, and Marvin Musquin—and Ryan Villopoto, Ryan Dungey, Chad Reed, James Stewart, and even Ricky Carmichael before them—that time off was precious enough for them to have all passed on the MXoN.

There was also the matter of newly crowned AMA 250 Class Pro Motocross Champion Adam Cianciarulo, who was switching teams and moving up to a 450 for the first time. He wanted to go, but his new bosses at Monster Energy Kawasaki decided he should do what his new teammate Tomac was doing: take a little time off and then get ready for the Monster Energy Cup and a full docket of testing.

Gautier Paulin (1) and the French finally had some bad luck after his bike broke and Maxime Renaux (2) struggled in the difficult conditions; Spain’s Jorge Prado (19) was impressive in his 450 debut; Jeremy Van Horebeek (far right) helped Belgium finish second overall; Slovenia’s Tim Gajser (91) went 1-2, but his teammates both failed to finish in the top 20; the Assen TT circuit was dry and inviting—on Friday.

Gautier Paulin (1) and the French finally had some bad luck after his bike broke and Maxime Renaux (2) struggled in the difficult conditions; Spain’s Jorge Prado (19) was impressive in his 450 debut; Jeremy Van Horebeek (3rd bottom row – far right) helped Belgium finish second overall; Slovenia’s Tim Gajser (91) went 1-2, but his teammates both failed to finish in the top 20; the Assen TT circuit was dry and inviting—on Friday.

All three of these guys wanted to be there for The Man and their country. As a matter of fact, they even went early.

Team USA wasn’t the only nation with this struggle. Germany was without the aforementioned Roczen, their best rider ever, and France was without Musquin and 250SX West Region Champion Dylan Ferrandis; they also lost the services of rising star Tom Vialle over a ridiculous argument with Red Bull over logo sizes on their team cap.

Given the slim pickings Roger De Coster had for this year’s team, everyone was impressed with the three who did answer his call. Rockstar Husqvarna’s Jason Anderson and Zach Osborne had ridden the MXoN before, Osborne for both Team USA and Team Puerto Rico early in his career. They would line up in the MXGP (450) and Open classes. For his MX2 (250) entry, De Coster went with Monster Energy/Yamalube/Star Racing Yamaha’s Justin Cooper, the quick-starting, hard-charging second-year pro from Long Island. What the three lacked in actual race wins—Cooper’s first career win, in Florida, was the lone 2019 victory for anyone on the team—they seemed to make up for in enthusiasm. All three of these guys wanted to be there for The Man and their country. As a matter of fact, they even went early.

Meet Team Fried

Early in the summer of 2019, some peculiar videos began popping up online—peculiar, at least, in comparison to most motocross filmmaking. These were nothing like the slickly edited, soundtrack-driven videos everyone was used to seeing. Instead, they were day-in-the-life offerings from Anderson and his camera-toting buddies Tom Journet and Matt Rice. They called themselves Team Fried, and their work was shaped by lazy cuts and edits, psychedelic graphics, and subject matter that bounced all over the place, from driving around looking for a decent breakfast to watching squirrels at the practice track. It was a fly-on-the-wall look at life in professional motocross. And in case anyone forgot what these guys do, there was also occasional footage from racetracks and practice tracks, plus race-day cameos from friends and fellow videographers. Anderson’s openness, his charismatic personality, and his commitment to letting his buddies film whatever and whenever they wanted made for some rare all-access media. In a word, they were brilliant.

What does any of this have to do with the Motocross of Nations? When Anderson told De Coster that he would race for Team USA again, and that he would even go to Europe early to get used to riding in the sand, Team Fried all bought tickets. In early September, they landed in the Netherlands and set up shop. After a brief vacation, and with generous help from the Ice One Husqvarna MXGP team that’s based next door in Belgium, Anderson started getting ready for Assen while Team Fried’s cameras rolled. And as soon as the videos went online, they went viral around the moto corners of the web. Interest in Team USA’s attempt to stop its losing streak was already growing, but the videos turned that interest up to 11, especially after the veteran Osborne followed his teammate over and started popping up in videos as a somewhat confused though not-at-all reluctant co-star.

Team USA’s Justin Cooper (14) was impressive in winning on Saturday but tangled early on Sunday with teammate Jason Anderson (13), busting his hand in the process, but he soldiered on; Zach Osborne (15 and inset top) gave the Americans their best finish, a fifth in the final moto, for sixth overall; Team Fried’s Tom Journet and Matty Rice roll with Anderson as they document the whole MXoN adventure.

Despite the fact that the hosting Netherlands had never won the Peter Chamberlain Trophy, they were the heavy favorites going into this year’s race. They did not disappoint. The trio of Calvin Vlaanderen (far left), Glenn Coldenhoff (center), and Jeffrey Herlings finally got to hoist the trophy after Coldenhoff (6) swept both of his motos for the second straight year and Herlings (4) nearly won the other moto.

And it wasn’t just Americans who found them interesting: fans all over the world started following and commenting in appreciation of Team USA, and Team Fried as well. Justin Cooper completed the cast when he landed two weeks before the race, and despite being a complete unknown in Europe—he’d never left the country before this—his star wattage started rising the moment he groggily stepped out of a rental car and admitted, “I don’t even know what country I’m in.”

The videos even caught the attention of Youthstream’s David Luongo. When introduced to Matty “Fried Rice” on his way to the MXoN press conference, Luongo stopped and thanked him profusely for the work that Team Fried had done in the weeks before the race, knowing that fan interest had been piqued. This new and open access to top riders—something that just doesn’t happen often with more mainstream media channels and journalists—was like a new frontier in terms of how fans connect with motocross and their favorite riders. And despite not having all the star power the race usually offers—top MXGP riders Antonio Cairoli, Romain Febvre, Clement Desalle, and Arnaud Tonus were all hurt—the buzz for the Assen edition was palpable. All the event needed to be a classic was some close racing . . . and decent weather.

Dutch Shower

The racing and the weather were okay for Saturday’s qualifiers. The rain mostly held off, which was a lucky break for Team USA, having done notoriously poorly in the wet stuff. But they also drew gate pick 31 out of 34 for the three class qualifiers. Anderson and Osborne each finished sixth in their respective qualifiers—not as competitive as they’d hoped. Cooper, on the other hand, blew minds with his MX2 start, pinning his YZ250F all the way around the outside of the start sweeper for an unlikely holeshot. He held it all the way to the finish, moving Team USA up to third overall in qualifying. The buzz in the paddock and in the pressroom was that the Americans had a puncher’s chance against the home Dutch team, just like Belgium, France, and maybe even Great Britain. The only sure thing was the heavy rain in the forecast for Sunday—for the third year in a row.

The rains came as expected, falling heavily from just after midnight. They would swamp the facility with such intensity that the trucked-in sand practically liquified. Deep pools formed around the edges of the track, turning the last-chance qualifier, or B-Final, into a B-roll of comedic bloopers, with riders crashing and splashing and sinking all over the track. Team Poland won, edging out perennial B-Final favorite Ireland on a track that was starting to look like a sandcastle as high tide comes in.

The rain was scheduled to begin falling even heavier at 1:00 p.m., just in time for the start of the first MX2/Open moto. It hit hard, just like they said it would, blowing sideways and making for as rough a day for cameramen as for racers.

Moments later, it was all over for Team USA’s chances, coldcocked by bad timing and rotten luck. Team Belgium and the British cobbled together enough finishes to stand lower on the podium. And the French saw their long run of good luck end when team captain Gautier Paulin’s bike expired in the elements.

For the Dutch, on the other hand, the race came at the perfect time. Herlings, the world’s best motocrosser over the last couple of years, missed almost the entire MXGP season with injuries. He returned toward the end and won the last two rounds in Turkey and China, ending his Dutch teammate Coldenhoff’s hot streak. Those two would be joined again in the MXoN by the Holland-based South African Honda rider Vlaanderen, giving them a solid team on any terrain. The fact that it was on deep sand, where they truly thrive, had Dutch fans dreaming of a long-overdue win. Even the Dutch king, Willem-Alexander, came out to enjoy the races in a brilliant orange Team Netherlands hoodie, making national news.

As expected, the Dutch dominated—but not Herlings. For the second year in a row, Coldenhoff had the race of his life, winning both of his MXoN motos. It was a feat reminiscent of Danny “Magoo” Chandler’s four-moto sweep of the ’82 Motocross and Trophee des Nations. Like the late Chandler, Coldenhoff has never won a major title, but what he did in the rain in front of his king and countrymen was the stuff that makes the MXoN such a special race—whether Team USA wins or not.

But it’s gotten harder to remember what those wins were even like. The last time Team USA won, the team was anchored by the Ryans, Villopoto and Dungey. It was also the only time those two legends represented America on the same team. It happened in France, which is where the event will be held next year. There’s already been talk that De Coster should give the same three riders who stepped up this year another shot, and it’s safe to say a lot of people would be on board with that—so long as they get to bring Team Fried with them.

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