Cycle News

VOL. 50 ISSUE 39 OCTOBER 1, 2013 crash that took them out of the running when it really mattered. On the flip side, when Team USA loses, it's a massive deal to the GP supporters. They see it a lot like David slaying Goliath. And in some ways, it is a lot like that. But ask yourself this: What did Goliath have to gain by taking on David in the first place? And secondly, what did he have to lose? Prior to the 2013 event, Team USA was pretty confident that they could win this year, mainly because last year's loss – in the deep sand of Lommel, Belgium – was thought to be a bit of a fluke brought about by some bad luck and a track that is especially suited to the European racers. Also, it seemed unthinkable that Team USA could lose twice in a row, because the USA hadn't lost twice in a row (at least when the USA competed in both of the events) since they lost in 1994 and 1995. And that leads to the final point regarding the question about what Goliath has to gain by taking on David – or, more accurately, 19 Davids, all of whom want to beat Goliath, and few of whom really care which David takes Goliath down. That final point is that when Team USA is on a streak of MXoN wins – like they were starting in 1981 (which lasted 13 years), and like they were from 2005 until losing the event in 2012 – Team USA's racers have a desire to represent their country in a patriotic manner, and perhaps a heavier desire not to be on the team that loses and breaks the streak. Once the streak is broken, the desire changes either to not wanting to be on the team that loses twice in a row, or to be (on the affirmative side) on the team that starts the new streak. Don't think so? Then ask Jeff Emig next time you see him. He was on the team that ended the win streak in Switzerland in 1994. P43 Briefly... Calimero proved a smart choice for the Dutch, as a first-turn fall in the first moto kept him behind, but in the final moto, De Reuver scored the team's top score of the weekend with a ninth place in the MX1/Open moto, finishing just on the heels of Ryan Dungey and Brett Metcalfe, and just in front of David Philippaerts and Justin Barcia. The second moto at the Motocross of Nations – the MX2/Open moto – turned into either an end of an era, or the start of a new one, pretty quickly when Ken Roczen and Eli Tomac broke away from the pack early, both in their final 250cc races before moving up to the 450cc class starting at the Monster Energy Cup in October. The two set a blazing pace out front, with Roczen eventually winning the moto over Tomac by a half-second, and third-placed Clement Desalle coming in 49 seconds behind the 250cc duo on a track where Roczen and Tomac hovered around a 1:45 lap time. If they end up going that quick on 450s, they're going to make life rough on a lot of established veterans. For the first time in the history of the Motocross of Nations, Team Australia qualified first going into Sunday's racing, and they did it with current Canadian 450cc champ Brett Metcalfe as the team captain with MX2 GP racer Dean Ferris racing the 250, and Todd Waters in the Open class. Unlike in year's past, Metcalfe took a relaxed approach to leading the team, and it worked out for everyone except maybe for him, as he struggled on Sunday to 8-10 finishes after winning his MX1 qualifier on Saturday. Metcalfe struggled with some continued on next page

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