Welcome to the first day of our 2011 Motocross of Nations coverage. While our boys sip cappuccino and settle into the Paris lifestyle we're going to kick the week off with a little blog we like to call, MXoN Sleepers. Those who we feel have a shot at a top five finish but may not be getting the respect they deserve. The USA may be the race favorite once again this year, but with over 35 countries fielding teams a victory for Team USA is anything but set in stone.
For those new to the MXoN here's a basic rundown of how it works. Each country fields its best three riders. Once chosen riders will split up into MX1, MX2 and MX3 classes, with MX1 and MX3 riding 450s and MX2 riding 250s. Saturday is qualifying and Sunday is the final showdown. On race day each class will match up against each other. For example, the first moto will be all MX1 + MX2 riders, and so on and so forth. The top 20 teams from qualifying make it into the A final and the team with the lowest combined number of points will be crowned the winner. Also note that each team is allowed one "throw away" score.
With mounting injuries to some of the heavy hitting teams from 2010, there should be a major change in the running order in 2011. France lost Steven Frossard due to a crash at the German GP a few weeks ago, but is hoping that Christophe Pourcel will be able to step up and fill the void. While they aren't exactly sleepers, the world will be watching as France tries to bring home the title on home turf after a disappointing seventh in 2010.
One of the most notable sleepers in France will be team Puerto Rico. Made up of Zach Osborne in the MX2 class and Jimmy Albertson in the MX3 class, Puerto Rico could have a solid showing this year. They will depend heavily on the inexperienced Luis Grana, but if he can find a way to hold onto a top fifteen finish in one of his motos, Puerto Rico could very well improve on their top 10 performance from 2010 and sneak into the top five.
Spain is another team we feel could improve drastically from their top 15 finish in Colorado last year. They have experience and both Jonathan Barragan and Carlos Campano have shown flashes of brilliance in the World championships this year. If Jose Antonio Burtron can manage to put in some solid motos, look for Spain to make a push for their best finish ever.
Our final pick for a 2011 sleeper, and perhaps our most confident one, is South Africa. Unable to compete in 2010 due to funding issues, South Africa will be sending quite a strong team to France this year. Tyla Rattray, one of the fastest Lites riders in the AMA series, will make up the MX1 class with Gareth Swanepoel, another super talented AMA rider, filling as their MX3 rider. The only question mark will be the teams MX2 rider in Shannon Terreblanche. South Africa, much like many of the other teams, will be fielding a third rider that, for lack of better words, is unproven against world competition. There will be a host of teams praying for spectacular rides out of their third rider and South Africa will be one of them. However, South Africa will have the luxury of hosting two of the fastest riders on the gate and while neither of them has a ton of experience on the 450, reports are showing that both are adapting quite well leading into the race.
One thing that is guaranteed at this year's Motocross of Nations is that nothing is guaranteed. This is the world's biggest race and it has a peculiar way of putting pressure on even the most steadfast riders. Thirty-five teams will bring their "A" game to France this weekend and only one will walk away the victor. Be sure and check back in later this week for our predictions on which team has the best shot of landing on the podium. We'll give you a hint, it's not who you might expect.
Until then, see below for a list of class results from 2010 along with a list of overall country results.
MX1 + MX2 Motocross des Nations Results:
1. Ryan Dungey, USA (Suzuki)
2. Antonio Cairoli, Italy (KTM)
3. Brett Metcalfe, Australia (Honda)
4. Jonathan Barragan, Spain (Kawasaki)
5. Gautier Paulin, France (Yamaha)
6. Ken Roczen, Germany (Suzuki)
7. Steve Ramon, Belgium (Suzuki)
8. Dean Wilson, Great Britain (Kawasaki)
9. Rui Goncalves, Portugal (KTM)
10. Tanel Leok, Estonia (Honda)
11. Joshua Coppins, New Zealand (Aprilia)
12. Trey Canard, USA (Honda)
13. Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium (Kawasaki)
14. Marcus Schiffer, Germany (Suzuki)
15. Zach Osborne, Puerto Rico (Yamaha)
MX2 + Open Motocross des Nations Results:
1. Ben Townley, New Zealand (Honda)
2. Kyle Regal, Puerto Rico (Honda)
3. Ken Roczen, Germany (Suzuki)
4. Clement Desalle, Belgium (Suzuki)
5. Max Nagal,Germany (KTM)
6. Dean Wilson, Great Britain (Kawasaki)
7. Trey Canard, USA (Honda)
8. Brad Anderson, Great Britain (Honda)
9. Manuel Monni, Italy (Yamaha)
10. Jeremy van Horebeek, Belgium (Kawasaki)
11. Xavier Boog, France (Kawasaki)
12. Jorge Antonio Balbi Junior, Brazil (Kawasaki)
13. Andrew Short, USA (Honda)
14. Zach Osborne, Puerto Rico (Yamaha)
15. Yoshitaka Atsuta, Japan (Suzuki
MX1 + Open Motocross des Nations Results:
1. Ryan Dungey, USA (Suzuki)
2. Andrew Short, USA (Honda)
3. Clement Desalle, Belgium (Suzuki)v
4. Antonio Cairoli, Italy (KTM)
5. Brett Metcalfe, Australia (Honda)
6. Steve Ramon, Belgium (Suzuki)
7. Xavier Boog, France (Kawasaki)
8. Arnaus Tonus, Switzerland (Suzuki)
9. Gautier Paulin, France (Yamaha)
10. Jay Marmont, Australia (Yamaha)
11. Brad Anderson, Great Britain (Honda)
12. Jake Nicholls, Great Britain (KTM)
13. Rui Goncalves, Portugal (KTM)
14. Joshua Coppins, New Zealand (Aprilia)
15. Manuel Monni, Italy (Yamaha)
Motocross des Nations Team Results:
1. USA, 23
2. Belgium, 30
3. Germany, 44
4. Great Britain, 45
5. Italy, 50
6. Australia, 54
7. France, 71
8. New Zealand, 90
9. Portugal, 94
10. Puerto Rico, 99
11. Switzerland, 102
12. Austria, 109
13. Spain, 115
14. Finland, 116
15. Estonia, 118
16. Canada, 119
17. Latvia, 121
18. Brazil, 123
19. Japan, 128
20. Ireland, 142
