VOLUME 56 ISSUE 39 OCTOBER 1, 2019 P65
BY STEVE COX
PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ARCHER
C
oming into the 73rd running of
the Motocross of Nations, The
Netherlands had never won
the prestigious race despite hosting
the very first Motocross of Nations
event in 1947. But not anymore.
In front of their home crowd, as
well as its King, the Dutch squad
was dominant in what could only
be described as atrocious weather
conditions. Heavy rain pounded
the TT Circuit at Assen, leaving the
sandy track wet, soft and rutted for
all three motos. But that didn't seem
to matter to the team's three riders,
Jeffrey Herlings, Calvin Vlaanderen
and Glenn Coldenhoff, who snatched
the Chamberlain Trophy with ease
and with plenty of room to spare. This
one wasn't even close. But the Dutch
team had to work for it.
"It was a tough race," said Her-
lings, "but Glenn was great again and
also Calvin, and to win this, never
done it in my life! It's fantastic to win
the first-ever Motocross of Nations
[for The Netherlands]."
"The pressure was on us," Vlaan-
deren said, "and we controlled that
well, and we rode excellent. Both
Glenn and Jeffrey had great perfor-
mances."
"Double gold with the team, in The
Netherlands, in front of our king and
the crowd was amazing," Coldenhoff,
the star of the day, said. "I heard
them every lap; this is something we
will never forget."
Team USA, on the other hand, will
be happy to forget what happened on
this day. The team had their chances
Team Netherlands
celebrate the country's
first-ever Motocross of
Nations victory. And it
came on home soil.
