Team Canada: Looking Back but Going Forward

Tyler Medaglia flies through the cool Latvian air.

As we sit back and give Team Canada one final autopsy on their performance at the 2014 MXON, you have to wonder what the next steps are for this program. With so much hype and promise heading into last weekend’s race in Latvia, despite the same old results, we have to ask ourselves if it’s worth it to go next year and beyond.

The answer, from my perspective, is of course we keep it going. We’re a world class country, with world class riders and a National series that has solidified itself as one of the best in the world. Other than the enormous cost that is associated with sending a team across the Atlantic to compete, there aren’t too many reasons not to go. However, as a country, what can we do to help our team achieve the results they’re supposed to be on paper, results that are similar to the ones the team reached at Budds Creek in 2007, or even in Holland in 2004?

After reading many of the comments from the various riders that raced on Sunday in Latvia, it’s very clear that if you didn’t get a good start on that track your chances of a good finish were diminished. However, in moto one, we saw Colton Facciotti charge from dead last to 16th, the team’s best finish of the day. How did he do this on a track that was supposedly hard to pass on? Well, maybe with it being early in the day there were a few more lines that Colton could use to pass, whereas later in the day the track became so rough that it turned into a one lined mess? Whatever the reason, from that point on a bad start for any of the riders was a certain death sentence.

Although the track in Latvia was tough, it appeared to suit our riders better than the last few MXON circuits.

It was very interesting to read a few of Chad Reed’s quotes from the weekend. Chad and his Australian Team also had an off day in Latvia and he spoke about how different the Europeans ride these tracks. He spoke about how in the USA the riders charge harder into corners (largely because of Supercross) so the entrances get very rough. In Europe the riders train in sand more so they enter the corners on a wider angle and sweep through them more. I would think that this style would suit our riders very well as we don’t ride much SX and spend a lot of time in the sand as well. However, Reed also confirmed that on the Latvia track, the start was very unfair and it was next to impossible to get a good start from the outside half of the gates.

With the 2015 MXON headed to France, the competition will no doubt be even tougher. However, with the program in place from this year and a very motivated Ryan Gauld behind it again, hopefully we’ll be able to send over the very best team again. May I also suggest that to make our team even stronger, we should send someone like JSR, Carl Vaillancourt or even Ross Pederson to assist our riders and have them realize their full potential on the world stage? All three riders I mentioned have had success on European soil while lining up beside the best. Maybe their presence at the point in time when the pressure is the highest for our riders would have a calming and confidence building effect on them; like a shot of adrenaline when it’s needed most!

As the team makes their way back to Canada and deals with their jet lag, let me say congratulations to all of them on their effort. No one quit and our team of Colton, Tyler and Kaven can all hold their heads high as they head into the off-season. After a great learning year this year, the team will be ready to go in 2015. France here we come!

Even though we finished 17th overall, Team Canada definitely looked like winners in their red and white.