It was another case of ‘would have, could have and should have’ for any other team than the United States at this year’s Monster Energy Motocross of Nations in France.

MX1 world champion Antonio Cairoli had looked threatening early in the event, pushing American MX1 rider Ryan Dungey throughout qualifying, but his weekend came tumbling down in the first MX1/MX2 race on Sunday and that disaster for Team Italia was followed by a similar mishap for Italy’s MX2 rider Alessandro Lupino in the next race, his crash a more spectacular affair with the bike cartwheeling through the air at exactly the same spot that had earlier claimed Cairoli.

The defending champion Americans only won one of the three main event races but with MX3 rider Ryan Villopoto and Dungey coming home 1-2 in the third and deciding MX1/MX3 race, Team USA had done enough to make it seven MXoN wins in a row.

Race results – 2011 Monster Energy MxoN, St Jean d’Angely, France:

Race 1: Reed, Roczen, Dungey, Searle, Rattray, Leok, Barragan, Musquin, Wilson, Roelants, Pourcel, Goncalves, Atsuta, Pyrhonen, Neugebauer

Race 2: Paulin, Herlings, Villopoto, Roczen, Strijbos, Swanepoel, Metcalfe, Guarneri, Campano, Tonus, Musquin, Roelants, Schiffer, Anderson, Correia

Race 3: Villopoto, Dungey, Rattray, Searle, Guarneri, Bobryshev, Reed, Paulin, Herlings, Metcalfe, Strijbos, Leok, Tonus, Barragan, Anderson, Goncalves

© Words and photos by Bridget McGechan, www.BikesportNZ.com

Full story and more photos in your next issue of KIWI RIDER magazine.

Meanwhile, check out the Youthstream (MX GP) official site: http://www.motocrossmx1.com/