Cycle News Staff | July 20, 2021
Despite going winless on the day, Honda’s Tim Gajser came away with the overall victory at the MXGP of the Netherlands in Oss, July 18. It was quite the opposite in MX2 where Yamaha rider Jago Geerts won both motos for the overall victory.
Photos by ShotbyBavo
Former MXGP Champion Jeffrey Herlings (Red Bull KTM) won the first MXGP moto while riding with a broken shoulder sustained earlier in the race. Despite getting landed on by another rider right after the start when his holeshot device failed to unlock (causing him to land short over a jump), Herlings, who did not crash in the collision, went on to make big passes and win the moto over Yamaha’s Glenn Coldenhoff and Gajser.
Kawasaki’s Romain Febvre was fourth and Yamaha’s Jeremy Seewer was fifth.
It was discovered between motos that Herlings’ shoulder had been broken in the earlier collision, and the KTM rider did not line up for the second moto.
Herlings’ teammate Jorge Prado led much of the second moto while Gajser pushed him relentlessly. After a long battle, Gajser finally passed Prado and took over the lead, but while they were going at it, Prado’s teammate Antonio Cairoli was creeping up on them.
Cairoli got around Prado then went after Gajser, passing the defending champ on the last lap to take the win. Unfortunately for the Italian, Cairoli, a bad start and a crash that left him eighth in the first moto, ruined his chance for the overall victory but he did collect second overall.
Gajser, however, got the job done with a 3-2.
Third on the day went to Febvre with a 4-4.
Prado went 6-3 for fourth overall.
“First race I was quite happy with third place, and I didn’t want to take any risks as the track was sketchy,” Gajser said. “In the second race, I took a good start, I was behind Prado the whole race, but he was blocking all the lines, but then I managed to pass him with a couple of laps from the end. But I lost all my energy before, and Tony passed me on the last lap. I was trying to hold him, but he had better lines.”
Cairoli said, “Towards the end of the race the guys in front were a little tired at the end, so after I passed Jorge, I said I’ll go for the win.”
As for Herlings, “What can I say about today?” he said after the race. “I had high hopes and wanted a 1-1. I had a great start in the first moto, but the start device did not disengage immediately up the hill, and I did not jump as far as I usually do out of the waves. The rest is history. I had a lot of pain but thought I’d keep going to try and get fourth or fifth. I saw I was still able to catch the guys, so I started passing them even though I could barely hold on for the last three laps. I have a small crack in my shoulder blade, and I still don’t know how bad it is. We had a scan, and it doesn’t seem too bad. I don’t have any pain now but racing a dirt bike is a different story. We’ll have another check tomorrow.”
“Much respect for [Herlings] still winning the first moto,” Prado said. “I don’t think there are many riders that can do that!”
Gajser leads the championship with 166 points, followed by Herlings, Cairoli and Febvre who are all locked on 143 points. Prado is holding his own in fifth with 132 points.
In MX2, the Belgian, Geerts, out-dueled Australia’s Jed Beaton (2-3), Dutch favorite Kay de Wolf (5-2), Frenchman Maxime Renaux (9-4) and Austria’s Rene Hoffer (4-10) for the overall win.
“I’m really happy with today,” said Geerts, who has been dealing with a knee injury. “Two really good starts, we are on the right tracks. The first heat, I passed [for the lead] on the first lap and rode my own race, kept a small gap, so that was good. In the second heat, I took the holeshot, but Kay was right there and he passed me. Then he had a small crash, but he was still behind me the whole race, so he was pushing.”
Renaux overtook the championship lead in MX2 with 141 points. Next is Mattia Guadagnini with 136 points and Ruben Fernandez with 133.
VIDEO | 2021 MXGP of The Netherlands Highlights
MXGP
- Tim Gajser (Hon) 3-2
- Tony Cairoli (KTM) 8-1
- Romain Febvre (Kaw) 4-4
- Jorge Prado (KTM) 6-3
- Ben Watson (Yam) 9-6
MX2
- Jago Geerts (Yam) 1-1
- Jed Beaton (Hus) 2-3
- Kay de Wolf (Hus) 5-2
- Maxime Renaux (Yam) 9-4
- Rene Hofer (KTM) 4-10