Motocross: Top Stars Of The MXGP Championship Suffer Mid-Week Injuries

Kit Palmer | April 25, 2014

The start of the MX2 class in Italy. Photography by Ray Archer

It was a tough week for the 2014 FIM Motocross World Championship with three of its stars suffering injuries while training for the upcoming Dutch GP in Valkenswaard on May 4. Rockstar Energy Suzuki’s Glenn Coldenhoff, Honda’s Max Nagl and Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna’s Todd Waters all went down with injuries that will force them to miss multiple rounds.

Nagl and Waters were involved in a four-rider incident while practicing in Holland. They both collided with a pair of downed riders on the back side of a blind jump, with Nagl suffering injuries to his hand and wrist that required surgery, and Waters suffering a broken leg, collarbone and hip. He too underwent surgery.

The German, Nagl, who is currently holding down fifth place in the MXGP point standings, isn’t expected to return to action until at least mid-June. Waters will be sidelined for at least three months. He is currently seventh in the MXGP Championship.

The Dutchman, Coldenhoff, was also training in Holland when he lost control of his bike over a jump, landed awkwardly and went down, suffering ligament damage and a compression fracture of his left knee. Coldenhoff, winner of two of the last six motos in the MX2 class and is holding down third in the championship, is expected to miss most of the rest of the series. He is hopeful to be well enough to perhaps compete in the last couple of rounds of the championship.

“I scrubbed a jump and must have just caught my wheel because it set me a little short; I almost saved it,” Coldenhoff said of his crash. “There was a lot of pain initially and we went straight for a check but the x-ray didn’t reveal much damage due to the swelling. It is only when we saw the MRI that we got the bad news.”