A FEW FACES MISSING | Bikesportnz

The Motocross of Nations will be missing quite a few recognisable faces this year.

While it has been confirmed that injured Red Bull IceOne Husqvarna Factory Racing team rider Dean Ferris is already on the road to recovery, it does mean he is another of several high-profile riders who will not be competing at this year’s Motocross of Nations in Latvia in less than two weeks’ time.

The Australian suffered a broken right femur in the second moto at the penultimate round of the 2014 MXGP World Championship in Brazil and he will be sidelined for quite some time.

Undergoing surgery immediately following his fall, an interlocking nail was inserted into Ferris’ femur. Ferris is already walking with the aid of crutches and in very good spirits considering the seriousness of his injury.

With Ferris out, Team Australia turned to just-crowned MX2 champion Luke Clout to fill the void in its MXoN squad and he will team up with Chad Reed and 2013 and 2014 Australian MX1 champion Matt Moss.

This is the second line-up change for Australia in a short space of time.

The inclusion of Moss was itself an emergency call-up after original selection Brett Metcalfe withdrew from the team last month citing personal reasons. Racing in the premier 450cc class, Metcalfe had just sealed fourth overall in the United States nationals (450cc class).

This was a real blow for Team Australia because Metcalfe was a stand-out performer in Germany last year – where Australia eventually finished fourth overall.

Metcalfe was partnered with Reed and Moss in France in 2011, when Australia claimed its first and only overall podium finish.

It’s also worth remembering that Metcalfe was top MX1 class qualifier at the MXoN in Germany last year.

Also missing from the MXoN this time around will be both the other riders who topped qualifying in Germany, Belgian Clement Desalle (MX3) and German Ken Roczen (MX2).

Anyone who witnessed the handlebar-bashing duel between Roczen and American Eli Tomac will have been saddened to learn of Roczen’s absence but he did explain it … “It is a lot of fun to fight for my country with my German colleagues, but, unfortunately, my visa expires in a few weeks, and, together with my management, I have worked for months on getting my Green Card (visa to reside and work in the United States). If I would leave the USA now, I would have problems for my continued stay here … To add to this, I have a brand change ahead of me (when he switches from KTM back to Suzuki for 2015). Anyone who really knows the extent of this job, will have understanding for me.”

Defending MXoN champion Team Belgium will look nothing like the squad that grabbed the Chamberlain Trophy last September.

In addition to the loss of Desalle, Belgium will also be missing their final-race hero from last year’s MXoN, Ken DeDycker.

The Dutch won’t have world MX2 No.2 Jeffery Herlings – still injured, he was barely able to compete last weekend – and the Americans won’t have Ryan Villopoto or Justin Barcia.

Team New Zealand won’t be sending any of its squad from last year (Cody Cooper, Rhys Carter and Kayne Lamont) after all three riders were struck down with injury, although it’s quite possible that the three replacements – Scott Columb, Hamish Dobbyn and Hamish Harwood – could still finish among the world’s top 20 nations.

But, perhaps most surprising of all is Team France, which won’t have just-crowned world MX2 champion Jordi Tixier.

There is a groundswell of fans calling for the French federation to reconsider its squad’s make-up and that may yet happen in the coming days. As it stands at the moment, France is sending Gautier Paulin, Steven Frossard and Dylan Ferrandis, even though Ferrandis finished fourth in the MX2 world championships, while Tixier is No.1 and another Frenchman, Roman Febvre, is ranked MX2 world No.3.

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