Motocross of Nations Update: Second Moto
Not looking good for Team USA today--in fact, after two motos it's just about mathematically impossible for them to repeat as champions of the event today.
In moto one, Blake Baggett got a terrible start, then suffered a crash, and was only able to muster a 14th. Ryan Dungey got up to sixth at one point, but also had a crash, and finished seventh.
Germany rocked the first moto--Italy's MX1 King Antonio Cairoli won the moto overall, but Germany had two solid finishes from Ken Roczen and Max Nagl to lead the points.
In moto two, Justin Barcia got a good start in MX3, and got into a battle with Belgium's Ken de Dycker for second (Jeffrey Herlings gott the holeshot and checked out immediately). Barcia crashed in a collision with KDD, and busted some spokes in his front wheel. He fought to get into fifth, but the wheel locked up on the last lap, sending him into the pits for repairs. It was a heart-breaker for the team. Baggett, meanwhile, was better in the second race, inside the top ten, but it puts Team USA way back heading into the third moto.
Germany had another solid moto, Roczen finishing as the top MX2 rider again, and MX3 entrant Marcus Schiffer doing what he needed to do--getting a solid top ten. Belgium's hopes soured when MX2 rider Jeremy Van Horebeek's bike broke, but they can throwaway that result. With de Dycker finishing third in moto two, and Clement Desalle taking fourth in moto one, those two could deliver solid rides in moto three to keep the pressure on Germany. But heading into moto three, Germany looks headed to their first MXoN victory ever. Belgium needs some luck to win it.