The countdown to the 2010 Red Bull FIM Motocross of Nations is reaching a crescendo.

In just over a week, the best motocross riders from around the world will converge on the Thunder Valley facility at Lakewood, Colorado, for the biggest professional motocross event on planet Earth, the annual Motocross of Nations (MXoN).

The line-ups from 32 countries have been named for this “Olympic Games of Motocross”, set for a revamped course just outside of Denver on September 24-25, and the racing there looks set to be both fast and furious.

The three-rider teams are glittering with the biggest names in the sport, including riders from both the US-based national championship scene and European-based World Motocross Championships.

Team USA is again favoured to win the event after capturing its fifth straight win at the MXoN when it was staged in Italy last season. The United States also holds the record for having the most wins at this event, taking the podium top spot on 20 occasions since the inaugural event in 1947. Britain is next best with 16 wins to its credit.

Minnesota’s Ryan Dungey returns as the US team captain and he will be the Americans’ MX1 class rider, just as he was in Italy last year.

Joining the newly-crowned US 450cc class champion will be Colorado’s Andrew Short and Oklahoma’s Trey Canard, the pair each making their debut at the MXoN this year.

For Short, the Thunder Valley track serves as the eight-year professional’s home track and there perhaps isn’t a better place in the world for Short to make his first appearance as a competitor in the MX3 class.

Rounding out the impressive Team USA line-up, Canard has just experienced a breakthrough season, having picked up his first US motocross title just a week ago. He is the designated MX2 class rider.

The teams from Italy, France, Belgium and New Zealand head the list most likely to challenge the host Americans.

New Zealand’s line-up comprises Motueka’s Josh Coppins, Taupo’s Ben Townley and Hawera’s Brad Groombridge.

Coppins, who just last week celebrated his final grand prix race of a 15-year world championship career, is no stranger to success at the MXoN, having been a part of the team on all three occasions where New Zealand finished on the podium at this event, in 1998, 2001 and 2006. Team New Zealand also finished as high as fourth on two occasions, in 2003 and 2005, so a top-five finish this time around is not unrealistic.

Townley was in the Kiwi team in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 and he also brings a wealth of experience with him. Townley was world MX2 champion in 2004, world MX1 No.3 in 2005 and then crossed the Atlantic to win the East Coast Lites Supercross Championship in the US in 2007, as well as finishing runner-up in the 250cc motocross championships.

Groombridge is the Kiwi dark horse. Making his MXoN debut this season, the just-turned 20-year-old rates among the lead riders on the New Zealand domestic scene but this will surely be a learning year at the MXoN for him.

Italy features just-crowned 2010 MX1 world champion Antonio Cairoli, former MX1 world champion David Philippaerts and the extremely talented Alessandro Lupino, while Belgium also bristles with world championship credentials in two-time former MX1 champion Steve Ramon captaining the side, with MX1 world No.2 Clement Desalle in close support.

The French line-up features 2009 and 2010 MX2 world champion Marvin Musquin, while Gautier Paulin — winner of one of the races in Italy last year – has been drafted in to replace an injured Christophe Pourcel.

About Thunder Valley Motocross Park:

Positioned along the beautiful foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Thunder Valley Motocross Park is located in Jefferson County, Colorado, on the western edge of the Denver suburb of Lakewood. The track is easily accessible within 15 minutes of downtown Denver, 30 minutes from Denver International Airport and just an hour from several major mountain resorts. The facility has hosted professional outdoor motocross nationals since 2006.

Here are the teams for the 2010 Red Bull FIM Motocross of Nations:

Team USA

Ryan Dungey – MX1

Trey Canard – MX2

Andrew Short – MX3

Team France

Gauiter Paulin – MX1

Marvin Musquin – MX2

Xavier Boog – MX3

Team Brazil

Marcello Lima – MX1

Cristopher Castro – MX2

Antonio Balbi – MX3

Team Iceland

Gylfi Gudmundsson – MX1

Eythor Reynisson – MX2

Hjalmar Jonsson – MX3

Team Belgium

Steve Ramon – MX1

Jeremy Van Horebeek – MX2

Clement Desalle – MX3

Team Ireland

Stuart Edmonds – MX1

Martin Barr – MX2

Gordon Crockard – MX3

Team Lithuania

Mindaugus Kazakevicius – MX1

Nerijus Rukstela – MX2

Rimantas Pazemeckas – MX3

Team Germany

Max Nagl – MX1

Ken Roczen – MX2

Marcus Schiffer – MX3

Team Latvia

Ivo Steinbergs – MX1

Matiss Karro – MX2

Lauris Freibergs – MX3

Team Venezuela

Giovanni Perrotta – MX1

Humberto Martin – MX2

Raimundo Trasolini – MX3

Team Great Britain

Brad Anderson – MX1

Dean Wilson – MX2

Jake Nicholls – MX3

Team Finland

Toni Eriksson – MX1

Harri Kullas – MX2

Jon Soderberg – MX3

Team Philippines

Jolet Jao – MX1

Ralph Alvarez – MX2

Kenneth San Andres – MX3

Team Italy

Antonio Cairoli – MX1

Alessandro Lupino – MX2

David Philippaerts – MX3

Team Sweden

Tom Soderstrom – MX1

Fredrik Noren – MX2

Alex Eriksson – MX3

Team Ukraine

Oleksandr Pashchynskyi – MX1

Mykola Pashchynskyi – MX2

Roman Morozov – MX3

Team Australia

Brett Metcalfe – MX1

Dean Ferris – MX2

Jay Marmont – MX3

Team Russia

Evgeny Bobrishev – MX1

Alexander Tonkov – MX2

Sergey Astaykin – MX3

Team Japan

Akira Narita – MX1

Takuya Mihara – MX2

Yoshitaka Astuta – MX3

Team Estonia

Tanel Leok – MX1

Pritt Ratsep – MX2

Gert Krestinov – MX3

Team Austria

Matthias Walkner – MX1

Pascal Rauchenecker – MX2

Gunter Schmidinger – MX3

Team Costa Rica

Johan Mora – MX1

Alejandro Rojas – MX2

Roberto Castro – MX3

Team Switzerland

Greg Wicht – MX1

Valentin Guillod – MX2

Arnaud Tonus – MX3

Team Puerto Rico

Christian Ruiz – MX1

Zach Osborne – MX2

Kyle Regal – MX3

Team Ecuador

Felipe Espinosa – MX1

Martin Davalos – MX2

Andres Benenaula – MX3

Team New Zealand

Josh Coppins – MX1

Brad Groombridge – MX2

Ben Townley – MX3

Team Canada

Jeremy Medaglia – MX1

Kaven Benoit – MX2

Kyle Keast – MX3

Team Guatemala

Rodolfo Fernandez – MX1

Esteban Castillo – MX2

Tomas Angel Castillo – MX3

Team Spain

Jonathan Barragan – MX1

Jose Antonio Butron – MX2

Carlos Campano – MX3

Team Croatia

Nenad Sipek – MX1

Marko Tumbri – MX2

Danijel Bozic – MX3

Team Mexico

Martin Garcia – MX1

Alberto Herdia – MX2

Giovanni Blanco Victor – MX3

Team Portugal

Rui Goncalves – MX1

Hugo Basaula – MX2

Luis Correia – MX3

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