Column: Geert Gelaude February 2019
We were able to keep it dry for a long time, but the sky gates have not remained closed much in the last few weeks. And many riders experience this because training in the Low Countries is almost impossible, so we have to move to other places, which is what many do. Almost all Grand Prix riders are in Sardinia where, in addition to the increasingly highly regarded Italian championship, they can also prepare with better weather conditions. Although it was not always dry there, the same in Spain where we saw numerous images of it being quite wet and muddy on some tracks. The first cancellations of matches this weekend and the coming week have already been confirmed.
No winter period without a list of injured riders. But this year the list is not particularly long, but one name stands out and that is the unfortunate MXGP world champion Jeffrey Herlings who injured his foot on the Red Sand track and has already undergone surgery in Herentals, Belgium. Spring is gone for The Bullit, and it will be a nightmare if he makes it to the first GP. Although I suspect that they will do everything they can to get to the start and thus want to limit the possible gap as much as possible. Who will not be present for the first Grand Prix is brand new JWR Yamaha rider Kevin Strijbos who was preparing on American soil when his arm started to act up again. Who is also unclear for that first big battle is none other than Standing Construct KTM rider Glenn Coldenhoff. Glenn posted a photo on Instagram this weekend announcing the resumption of training on the circuit in Red Sand, Spain. This means that 'The Hoff' will do everything he can to arrive fit at the start in Argentina.
Those who seem ready for the opening round in Argentina are Cairoli, who usually performs strongly in his own country, but now had to put all hands on deck to hold off a super strong Honda leader. Gasjer seems reborn after his serious injury last year and danced with the necessary flexibility through the heavy Italian sand. Romain Febvre also seems to have had a good winter and had to work hard after a fall in the super final, but was flagged down in fourth place with a sigh from Prado. It promises another exciting season, with numerous candidate heat winners. Still, as a good friend I am looking forward to the first race of Evgeny Bobryshev and the BOS GP team together with Tommy Searle will not spare the Kawasaki and I expect the necessary fireworks from both riders. We are also looking forward to that other Russian character pilot Brylaykov who will man the JWR Yamaha alongside Strijbos. “Seva” is training hard in Spain with ex-GP rider Brian Jorgensen who will also remain his mentor for next season.
The 41st edition of the Dakar is also behind us. Although a much toned down Dakar that only passed through Peru, it still provided us with the necessary excitement and breathtaking images. It may have been 'only ten stages' to complete, but it still weighed heavily and given the many dropouts, it was a real Dakar as usual. Quite a few dropouts from the Dutch side, but also excellent performances from several of the Lowlanders. An outlier, whether or not, is the very nice performance of rookie Paul Spierings, who managed to become the best Dutchman in his very first participation with a 27th place in the final ranking. Paul, a gifted motocross rider, has managed to make his boyhood dream come true and how. This certainly leaves us wanting more and we will see him doing these types of raids more often. Too bad for Wesley Pittens, who was the best Lowlander when he dropped out and probably could have improved this a lot because he was really doing very well. The Yamaha rider has already selected a date with a new raid where he wants to show that he will not simply be pushed aside. No, next year both friends will definitely be at the start of the 42nd Dakar.
This weekend the last indoor event was on the program in Herning, Denmark. Invariably a supercross that can count on many top riders and has been perfectly constructed by Freddy 'smurf' Verherstraeten.
By: Geert Gelaude
Posted: Steven van Kempen/KEMCO
Photo: Facebook
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