2019 Motocross Of Nations | Team The Netherlands Announced

2019 MOTOCROSS OF NATIONS | COMPLETE COVERAGE

The Netherlands, host nation for the 2019 Motocross of Nations, has shared their line-up for the upcoming international event at Assen. The team will consist of Jeffery Herlings and Glenn Coldenhoff in the MXGP and Open Class roles, which comes as no surprise. There is some intrigue around the MX2 spot, however, as both Calvin Vlaanderen and Roan Van de Moosdijk were named as picks. The two will be rated by team management at practice tests to be held over the next few weeks and the outcome of this will determine which rider gets the spot. 

The Dutch team’s run at the 2018 Motocross of Nations was memorable for the way they overcame unfortunate circumstances. Calvin Vlaanderen was sidelined for the event due to an eye injury he suffered on Sunday morning and a lack of MX2 finishes put extra importance on Herlings and Coldenhoff; the two riders went on to claim podium finishes in each of their motos (Coldenhoff went 1-1, Herlings went 1-2) and finished second overall with a total of 39 points. 

From the moment Assen’s man-made sand circuit was announced as the site of the 2019 Motocross of Nations, the Netherlands has been considered likely overall winners. Jeffrey Herlings, the team’s MXGP pick, is widely considered one of the best sand riders in the world and he’s dominated past Monster Energy FIM Motocross World Championship events at the track. Glenn Coldenhoff, the team’s Open pick, is another sand specialist and has finished well at MXGP round and popular European beach races. Herlings has spent much of the year on the sidelines with ankle injuries and is expected to be back on the starting line for the final races of the MXGP series to warm up for the MXON. Coldenhoff has been in the mix all season long at claimed an important overall victory last weekend at the 2019 MXGP of Italy. 

Calvin Vlaanderen has endured his share of setbacks over the last few years, from the aforementioned eye injury to a series of smaller issues that have kept him off the track. His results in the MX2 class at recent rounds have shown great improvement, including three podium moto finishes in the last five rounds and he’s ninth in the series standings.

Roan Van de Moosdijk is a lesser-known name, but that’s likely to change thanks to a recent run of moto and overall wins that put him in the lead of the EMX250 championship. Van de Moosdijk looks to be a capable sand rider, as well, evident in his victories at sand tracks like Latvia and Belgium.

As we said, the MX2 spot will be determined after the two are graded at upcoming tests at sand tracks in Europe. 

Should the Netherlands team win the MXON at Assen, it would be a huge victory for the country, because they have never won the event and the Chamberlain Trophy. The team has finished on the overall podium thirteen times, including the current run of 2017 and 2018.