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IN THE WIND P32 Anderson, Cooper, Osborne Named U.S. MXoN Team T he AMA announced the three riders who will make up the 2019 U.S. MX of Nations Team. It will consist of Jason Ander- son (Husqvarna), Justin Cooper (Yamaha) and Zach Osborne (Husqvarna). This year's MX of Nations takes place at the TT Cir- cuit Assen in Assen, Netherlands, September 28-29. Team captain Osborne will race in the MX Open class. He was a member of the 2017 U.S. Motocross of Nations team. "I'm so excited for this opportunity to represent the United States at the Motocross of Nations," he said. "I love this race, and I think we have a great team with huge potential this year. I have a good plan in place to be in Europe early and do some riding on similar condi- tions to put myself in the best position possible to be prepared for the race." Anderson raced in the event's MX Open class in 2016 and will compete in the MXGP class this year. "I'm super excited to be picked for the U.S. Motocross of Nations team this year," Anderson said. "I think that we have a very motivated team between Zacho, Justin Cooper and me. Personal- ly, I'm excited to put my best foot forward, go there a month early and prepare as best possible for the sand conditions to try and represent the United States the best I can." It will be Cooper's first time taking part in a Motocross of Nations. He will race in the MX2 Class. "I got the chills when I got the call to represent my country overseas this year," Cooper said. "It's a whole new experience for me. I'm super excited and hon- ored to ride for the U.S. team. I'm ready to go over there and give it all I got." Roger DeCoster will again manage the team. The last time the U.S. team won the Motocross of Nations was 2011. MX of Nations candidates Eli Tomac and Adam Cianciarulo ruled out their participation before the announcement was made at Unadilla. Earlier in the week, Kawasaki issued this statement: Recently, the AMA made preliminary contact with several teams regarding avail- ability of riders for the 2019 Motocross of Nations (MXoN). Based on the team's off-sea- son plans, Kawasaki race team has informed the AMA that the team and riders will not be considered for the event later this year. Kawasaki riders Eli Tomac and Adam Cianciarulo separately expressed interest in attending MXoN this year. After discussing the details of the team's off-season plans with each rider, both were in agreement with the team's de- cision. The team will consider MXoN invitations for its team riders in the future. Kawasaki will continue its pursuit of suc- cess in the 450MX and 250MX 2019 AMA Pro Motocross Championships with Tomac and Cianciarulo each carrying the points lead and red plates in their respective classes into the Unadilla National in New Berlin, New York on Saturday, August 10. CN (L-R) Jason Anderson, Justin Cooper and Zach Osborne will make up this year's U.S. Motocross of Nations team in The Netherlands.