Final Junior World Championship selection!
Yves Devlaminck, national coach of the junior motocross riders of the Belgian Motorcyclists' Association FMB/BMB, has made his final selection for the Junior Motocross World Championships announced. In preparation for the World Cup August 10 in Lierneux (province of Liège), the selection will meet twice more.
Nineteen young riders in three classes and two reserve riders. That is the selection for the junior motocross world championship of FMB/BMB national coach Yves Devlaminck. For each class (65 cc, 85 cc and 125 cc), Belgium as the organizing country may in principle send seven riders and a reserve rider.
65 cc class (10-11 years); Denzel Vervaet, Lars Ver Boven, Junior Bal, Pako Destercq and Travis Verburgh.
85 cc class (12-14 years); Jago Geerts, Tallon Verhelst, Glen Bielen, Jens Steensels, Emilio Vannieuwenhuize, Ian de Sweemer, Jeremy Maitre and reserve driver Wesley Smolders.
125 cc class (14-17 years): Cyril Genot, Nathan Renkens, Bryan Engelen, Nolan Cordens, Mathias Van Roy, Yannick Vertommen, Jordi Van Mieghem and reserve driver William Devillet.
To be open
Devlaminck says it was fairly easy to make the selection. The only class where it was a bit more difficult was the 65 cc category. The FMB/BMB itself does not have any competitions in that class. The enthusiast associations in Wallonia do have that. In Flanders there is a ban on competitions up to the age of 12 and there is talk of 'training'. There are license holders at the FMB/BMB for that class, but they mainly ride abroad, for example in the Open Dutch Championship. That in itself also poses problems because in the Netherlands the 65 cc class uses engines with large wheels. In the 65 cc World Championship, Devlaminck says, only motorcycles with small wheels are allowed. “We therefore have fewer applications in that category. There was no real choice there,” said the junior national coach.
The FMB/BMB not only allows its own drivers who ride abroad for the 65 cc class, but also drivers from the ranks of enthusiast associations. They can apply for an FMB/BMB starting permit for one day. “Our intention is to be as open as possible,” says Stijn Rentmeesters, secretary general of the FMB/BMB. “Just because we don't have that class at the FMB/BMB doesn't mean we don't want to send riders to the World Championship. We want the best riders in our country to go to the world championship.” And because the World Championship is held in Wallonia, it is no problem for those 65 cc riders to participate in a race. The Walloon region does not have such a strict restriction on motocross for young people as the Flemish Region.
Red devil feeling
National coach Yves Devlaminck will organize two more internships with the selected riders in the coming weeks (previously there were internships for a larger group in May and June). This Wednesday and Thursday there was a two-day internship in Northern France in which sixteen drivers took part. A second and final stage will take place on July 22 on the site in Lierneux where the world championships will be held on August 10. Almost all selected candidates will be present there. At the last two meetings, Devlaminck wants to give the young people the 'red devil' feeling. “Motorcross is an individual sport, but we try to form a team with our colors,” says Devlaminck. “We also try to get to know each other better during the internships in order to create a collective.”
33-year-old Devlaminck is a sports teacher by profession. He also rode motocross himself, but due to circumstances he started late, at the age of 18. After his sports studies, he guided a number of motocross riders and since 2007 he has had his own motocross school.
Photo: Frederik 'VePix' Van Eeckhoven
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