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VOL. 54 ISSUE 3 JANUARY 24, 2017 P121 was a highly respected rider who'd been on the Brit- ish squad for 10 years, but none of the three, Nicoll, Herring nor Malin, had earned a moto win in the 250cc World Championships that year. Nicoll ended the season ranked fourth in the championship, but both of his teammates finished outside the top 10. But there was something in the air that day on the borderlands between Switzerland and France. The track was ultra-fast, hilly and rock strewn. Nothing like the Americans had ever seen before. When asked what American track it most resembled, Emig thought about it and replied only half-jokingly, "Laguna Seca." South African World Champ Greg Albertyn hit a deer at 40 mph on one of the fast straights, creating a venison feast for someone that night. Race day started off solidly for the Americans, and equally so for the Brits. A massive contingent of French fans went hysterical when Yves Demaria took the victory in the opening 500/125cc moto. LaRocco, racing an open-class Kawasaki, finished second and Nicoll third. The shocker was Malin took sixth overall on a 125 to top that class ahead of Emig. Malin hadn't raced a 125 in five years and some in his own country had criticized his selection for the class. The U.S. and Britain were tied four points each after the first moto. The second moto was the 125 and 250cc com- bined. Albertyn was leading when he hit the deer and was thrown cartwheeling off his bike. That unexpect- edly put Britain's Herring into the lead. Belgium's Mar- nicq Bervoets got by Herring with a half-lap to go to take the win. Kiedrowski came home fourth, behind Frenchman Frederic Bolley. Malin, once again, surprisingly beat Emig among the 125 riders. "I just wasn't comfortable riding at that speed on this track," Emig said. "I give Paul [Malin] a lot of credit. I duked it out all the way to the end, but it wasn't enough." Going into the final moto (500/250cc) the Brits led seven points to 10 over the USA. France was third with 12. In spite of being down, the Americans were still in control of their own destiny. If LaRocco won the 500cc class and Kiedrowski the 250s in the final moto, the U.S. would win, regardless of where the Brits finished. The Americans needed everything to go perfectly and it didn't. A first-turn pileup caught out Kiedrows- ki. As he tried to maneuver his way through a mass of riders and machines, he was midpack. Late in the moto, Nicoll was getting signals from his crew that Kiedrowski was well behind and the next 500 rider was 45 seconds back, so when LaRocco came up to challenge for the lead, Nicoll simply let him go by, much to the frustration of LaRocco, who was looking for any opportunity to stuff his opponent. Kiedrowski heroically did all he could to make up for the unfortunate start, but a young Italian making his first international appearance named Alessio Chiodi rode flawlessly and Kiedrowski couldn't find a way around. When the totals were tallied, the Brits had done it, defeating the Americans by two points 9-11. While it was an excellent team effort (starting with British team captain David Thorpe's rider picks and the decision to have a week-long team practice to build unity), both Nicoll and Herring rode excellent motos; Malin was clearly the surprise performer for the Brits with his pair of 125 class wins. Since they were the last British team to win, to this day every year at Motocross des Nations time, the three British heroes, who became motocross legends in their country, field tons of interview requests. "I don't think there was any chance we were getting beaten on that particular day," Nicoll remem- bers. "Certainly, Malin's performance, he never replicated in his career, but on that day, everything came together." Even though they hold a certain fame because of the victory, Nicoll said he and his teammates still root for Britain every year in hopes their country can once again stand atop the des Nations podium. "I would love to see England be strong enough to win again," Nicoll says. "I think they are a ways off at the moment, but I would love to see them become a powerhouse in motocross again." CN Subscribe to nearly 50 years of Cycle News Archive issues: www.CycleNews.com/Archives