Cycle News

VOL. 55 ISSUE 40 OCTOBER 9, 2018 P129 world's best motocross teams. The problem with the '07 team was overconfidence. Carmichael was the GOAT and it was his last motocross race—enough said. A young Ryan Villopoto was begin- ning to come into his own, having just scored the 2007 AMA MX Lites Championship (now known as the 250 national champion- ship) and was looking to prove his mettle against the international stars. Ferry (filling in for an in- jured James Stewart) was a great pick for a sub, a veteran known for being a rock-solid reliable finisher, a safe bet for not putting a wheel wrong all weekend. Team Manager Roger De- Coster did a brilliant job of keep- ing his team solidly grounded, even though they were heavily favored. His pre-race instruc- tions to continue to be strong and steady, even if bad things happen, proved prophetic. Team USA had to overcome problems. Carmichael and Ferry both crashed early in their first motos, but DeCoster's words of wisdom served as a guidepost and the riders beat the adversity and, in the end, it was a rout. All three Americans topped their prospec- tive classes (Carmichael the best scorer in MX1, Ferry in Open Class and Villopoto in MX2). Villopoto was the surprise standout. He was simply brilliant, winning moto one, the combined MX1/MX2 race ahead of Austra- lia's Chad Reed and Carmichael, who charged all the way back to a podium after being caught up in a first-lap pileup. Villopoto then went on to win moto two, as well, which was the MX2/Open. "All three were impressive to- day, with the comeback of Ricky and Timmy," DeCoster said of his American trio after the win. "But Ryan was unbelievably good. I knew before today he was good, but today he was on top of every- thing. It was awesome to see." Carmichael went out with a bang winning the final moto of the event (MX1/Open) with Ferry taking second. It was a blowout with the USA winning with eight points to second place France's 34 and Belgium with 35! Rocky Mountain High in Colorado – 2010 Ryan Dungey was the big star of the 2010 edition of the Moto- cross des Nations when it was held at Thunder Valley MX Park in Lakewood, Colorado, in front of a disappointing 17,000 fans during the depths of the reces- sion. Team USA won that day in a tighter battle over Belgium by a score of 23-30. It marked the 21st time that USA had taken the win, and it was America's sixth consecutive title. That year Dungey was teamed with Trey Canard and Andrew Short. Things looked ugly for Team USA from the start of the first moto (MX1/MX2) when Canard tangled with fellow American Zach Osborne, who was repre- senting Team Puerto Rico, and crashed. He was second to last at the end of the first lap. Up front Dungey was in a great battle with Antonio Cairoli of Italy. Dungey poured it on late in the moto and crossed the line 10 seconds ahead of Cairoli. Canard rallied to finish 12th, garnering valuable points after his disastrous start. In Moto 2 (MX2/Open) Short was looking solid near the front when he was hit hard by New Zealand's Ben Townley. Short was dazed and almost didn't get going again, but after a long delay he was back underway and rallied to finish 13th. Ca- nard finished seventh, but that meant with one moto remaining, USA trailed the Germans by five points, setting up an ultimate showdown for the title. With tensions running high, it finally all came together for the Americans in the final moto (MX1/Open) when Dungey and Short turned in superb rides and finished 1-2, clinching the victory for the home team. "This weekend was quite amazing," Dungey expressed afterward. "Everything must go right to win at this event. It is hard to put into words but it's like the experience of a lifetime. I felt like we really stuck together as a team and that helped a lot. We never quit and always kept pushing." American fans can only hope that Tomac, Barcia and Plessing- er will keep that American home cookin' tradition alive. CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives

• Cover