Legendary Belgium, plenty of woes for Italy: how the 2026 Motocross of Nations went

Everts and the Coenen twins bring a historic MXoN triumph back to Belgium. And Italy... Here’s how it went.

The Chamberlain Trophy ends up in Belgium’s hands, a historic moment for the nation of Liam Everts (like dad Stefan and grandpa Harry!) and twins Lucas and Sacha Coenen, kicking off a big celebration. And rightly so: it’s their 16th win ever, and it’s been over 13 years since the last time! It was 2013 in Teutschenthal, Germany, when Belgium’s Clement Desalle, Jeremy Van Horebeek, and Ken de Dycker claimed what had been their most recent success. So concludes the 2026 Motocross of Nations, not a particularly lucky edition for our Azzurri, who still finish sixth among the Nations. Disaster for host nation France, which dreamed of the big score after yesterday’s pole but ends only 10th... Here’s how it unfolded.

The moto win goes to Romain Febvre, who capitalized on a crash by Jorge Prado while he was leading. The Spaniard still finished second, with third place for Lucas Coenen for Belgium. France can’t celebrate too much, as Febvre’s win is offset by a crash for Mathis Valin, while Spain flies to the lead thanks to Guillem Farres in 4th, followed by Belgium and the Netherlands. Mixed fortunes for Italy too: alongside a fine 6th by Alberto Forato comes 32nd for Ferruccio Zanchi due to a mechanical issue on his Ducati; Italy starts the day 9th among the Nations.

The Open riders shine in this second race of the day. Jeffrey Herlings in particular is simply untouchable, over 30 seconds clear of the first chasers! With Glenn Coldenhoff in 9th, things get interesting... But there’s a key note for our guys: right behind the uncatchable Dutch ace is Andrea Adamo, author of a rock-solid race finished in 2nd place, counterbalanced by Ferruccio Zanchi in 17th. Third place for Latvia with Pauls Jonass; for Spain, Farres is strong in 5th, while Francisco Garcia retires. Belgium is solid with both Liam Everts and Sacha Coenen, enough to take the lead in the Nations standings ahead of the Netherlands and Spain, while Italy climbs to 6th. Noted is a nasty crash for Vialle, the rider fortunately OK.

The final race, the most important of the event at Ernée, doesn’t lack twists from the start, like gate issues for Forato that drop him far back, or Herlings going down after a couple of laps, followed by a charge back through the field. Prado had the best launch, then Febvre emerged, then the Spanish champion struck back, with Everts joining the fray, while Adamo slots immediately into the tail end of the top 10. France’s situation worsens with another retirement for Vialle after a crash... On lap 13 we get a tight head-to-head between Prado and Herlings, a duel the Dutchman will win. Problems for Adamo, who even returns to the box and retires: Italy’s situation definitively compromised. Unstoppable Herlings, followed by Prado and Febvre, but look behind them: history is written, Belgium triumphs for the first time in 13 years!

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