VOL. 54 ISSUE 39 OCTOBER 3, 2017 P69
What Happened to the U.S.?
They say that it's better to be lucky than good,
but when you're just downright unlucky, that's
the worst. Team USA was just flat-out unlucky in
England.
Americans aren't normally known as great mud
riders in the first place, but Zach Osborne spent
a half-decade in Europe, and he can ride in the
mud. Californians Cole Seely and Thomas Cov-
ington aren't exactly known for mud riding, but
they're not bad at it.
But it just wasn't in the cards for the USA this
year. In the first moto (MXGP/MX2), Seely only
made it a few laps before something in his rear
shock broke, leaving him riding a chopper with
literally no rear suspension, and Osborne fought
it out the best he could, but a minor fall late in the
race cost him a couple of spots and he ended the
moto in 10th.
In the second moto (MX2/Open), Osborne
showed the speed he had during Saturday
qualifying, coming from well behind to take third
in the moto, and first in his class, but that was
the highlight of the entire day for the Americans,
as Open racer Covington—who raced in the MX2
class all year—fell on the opening lap, and then
then went down a few laps into the race, giving
up the lead to Febvre, but fought back, passed
Febvre for the lead (just as they were both caught
by Herlings), and rode a smart race to the finish,
beating Herlings by one second to go 1-1 and
win the MXGP class overall in front of his home
crowd.
Even more important than that, at least to the
fans, was that his remarkable 1-1 day vaulted
Great Britain—with his teammates Dean Wilson
and Tommy Searle—onto the podium at the Moto-
cross of Nations for the first time since 1997—21
Motocross of Nations events ago. Max Anstie, at
that time, was three years old.
"Getting two moto wins and seeing our team
finish on the podium is an amazing feeling," "For
me these two moto wins feel like a dream come
true," said Anstie. I've always wanted to get a win
in the MXGP class and now I've got two victories
at the most prestigious event of the season. In
moto one I got the lead quite early and just tried
to stay focused and hit my lines correctly. Then in
moto two we had a good battle with Febvre and
eventually I managed to come out on top. It's an
unreal feeling."
While this could mark the start of a new level
of racing for Anstie,
even if he never lines up
for another race in his
life, his legend in Brit-
ish motocross circles is
cemented.
"It was unbelievable,
it was awesome," Anstie
said. "I tried to race as
fast as I could and the
guys rode amazing. This
week has been stressful,
probably the most stress
of all of our lives, but
we've made the best of
we've kept solid and it's
an amazing feeling to be
on the podium."
Cole Seely struggled with
chronic suspension problems.
