Was there a more spectacular, riveting and exciting place to be in the whole of Europe – the whole international sphere of motorsport even – than Ernée this weekend? 80,000 fans waved flags, set off smoke bombs, screamed, clapped, cheered and even wept as the best off-road motorcycle racers around represented their countries for the 69th running of the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations. The French hillside was rammed to capacity as Team France’s Romain Febvre, Gautier Paulin and Marvin Musquin took the Tricolor to the top of the podium for the second year in a row and after a tight duel with Team USA’s Justin Barcia, Cooper Webb and Jeremy Martin that was divided by just two points and after three exhilarating motos.
Febvre was the star. The MXGP World Champion tussled with Webb and then had to catch a lively Ben Townley – riding for New Zealand – to post two victories on his factory Yamaha. The 1-1 was the base of France’s low scorecard and when Musquin and Paulin recovered from crashes to go 3-4 and 5-7 respectively Ernée was sent into meltdown. The fans had already built-up copious home advantage and seemed to ‘pull and push’ their riders around the hilly, narrow and technical layout. Febvre’s fight with Webb and Musquin’s jostle with Barcia being the action highlights of the three-race programme that saw three athletes from twenty countries duke it out.
“For sure this is one of the best races I have done…just because of the crowd,” said 23 year old Febvre, barely able to articulate his achievement. “You could hear them from everywhere and they gave more than 100%. To cross the line first at any time is always special but to win the Nations in France for sure it was the best experience.”
Barcia finished runner-up for the stars and stripes but could take minor consolation in his victory in the MXGP division and the first moto of the day, meaning Yamaha had a clean sweep. “The fans are unbelievable,” he said. “When I was behind Marvin I could hear all the cheering and then when I came around in front of him I couldn’t hear anything! They kill it. It will be nice to have one of these races in the U.S. The fans will be pumped up.”
On the bottom step of the podium for the second year on-the-spin was Team Belgium and Yamaha’s Jeremy Van Horebeek was the aggressor to keep his 100% trophy record alive while wearing his country colours. ‘JVH’ ripped the French mud to a 4-7: the Flemish trio’s best results on the day.
The Belgians were again on the box and long after any hopes had evaporated for the British. Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Max Anstie was the MX2 rep for the Union Jack but a horrific crash on Saturday when the Grand Prix winner was clipped on the head rolling down the steep downhill triple by Austria’s Pascal Rauchenecker, put the KX250F rider into hospital with a fractured shoulder and T3 vertebra, injuries from which ‘99’ is hopeful of a full recovery.
As the 2005 edition of this event broke fresh ground in terms of popularity, expectation and establishment of the Nations as an unmissable fixture, 2015 will be remembered as a step on from that day. When France again proved its competitiveness and utter dedication to the sport. At the heart of the emotion was a new hero. At the root of the story is a new intensity in the chapter of French motocross. Where can it go from here? It will be hard for the spectacle of Ernéeto be surpassed but if there is one circuit in Europe with the history and prestige to do so then it is Maggiora and the shallow northern hills of northern Milan will drawn the magic of the Nations onto the hard-pack in twelve months time when all the nerves and excitement will build once more.