Motocross: Herlings dominates all, triumph in France and win at the Dutch Masters, rivals crushed

Jeffrey Herlings the steamroller: in recent days the Motocross ace laid down the law in France and then again at home.

The Motocross World Championship may be on break until the end of May, but the riders certainly aren’t. We told you about the second round of the Italian Prestige series, but outside the peninsula a certain Jeffrey Herlings keeps putting on a show. So much so that in just a few days he managed to put his stamp both on the historic 68th edition of the Motocross de Sainte Austreberthe in France and on the second round of the Dutch Masters of Motocross in Harfsen, the Netherlands. Also on the start line were several stars of this year’s MXGP World Championship, making it a world-class showdown in which the record man and Honda ace swept the competition. Whether on the world or national stage, we’re talking about a rider who, despite the records he’s broken and the many injuries that have sidelined him more than once, keeps raising the bar, never satisfied and always chasing new goals.

And right in front of two home favorites. The crowd naturally had a soft spot especially for Tom Vialle and Maxime Renaux, but last Friday, May 1, both had to bow to Jeffrey Herlings, who had absolutely no trouble pulling off a stunning hat-trick (wins in Race 1, Race 2, and Race 3) to forcefully claim this historic international event on French soil. Maxime Renaux did the honors for the home crowd with overall second, third place went to Britain’s Conrad Mewse, while Tom Vialle finished further back, hampered by 16th in Race 2 (he was 3rd in both Race 1 and Race 3).

An even stronger world-class lineup in Harfsen on May 3: besides Herlings, there were Romain Febvre, Alberto Forato, Calvin Vlaanderen, Maxime Renaux, Kay De Wolf, Pauls Jonass, Roan van de Moosdijk, Rick Elzinga... But in the end, as we said from the start, there was only ever one headliner: the home hero. The reigning MXGP champion gets the holeshot but, as we’ve also seen on the world stage, lap after lap he has to yield the lead to a blazing Herlings, who takes the win in Race 1, with Maxime Renaux in third. Unfortunately there was no Race 2, cancelled due to heavy rain, but the verdict is clear—and it’s only May.