Motocross Performance Magazine Canadian Motocross news leader
Good day Canadian race fans! I hope this Monday Gate Drop presented by Honda Racing Canada finds you happy and healthy on this final Monday of September 2016. I wish I could make this page red and white in honour of Team Canada today as they certainly earned the praise yesterday in Italy. Regardless of the sport, whenever this incredible country gets together in search of one common goal, it really is amazing to watch. So with having said that, this Monday Gate Drop is dedicated to our team that performed so well yesterday.
Before I speak about yesterday’s Team Canada effort, I first want to make mention of Carl Bastedo, who for many years kept this program treading water when very few people seemed to care. Sometimes relying on his own money, Carl always had a keen sense of national pride and felt that Canada needed to be represented on the world stage, regardless of what anyone else thought. Carl was able to succeed in an age of no social media and even no internet, when his only means of communication was a phone and the mail. Ironically, I was at Moto Park yesterday and I could see the Maple Leaf pride on Carl’s face as he greeted all who were there to ride. Now, on to what happened yesterday in Italy.
Kaven Benoit started Team Canada’s day off with a great start in the opening moto. Photo by James Lissimore
Like almost everyone who wasn’t there and were not able to watch it live on CBS Sports, I did my best to follow the races on Twitter and the occasional update from Mark Stallybrass, who was on site. My first thought when I read that Kaven Benoit almost holeshotted the opening moto was that it was going to be a good day for Team Canada. When any team who comes into an event not quite knowing where they stand can sink a birdie putt on the opening hole like Benoit did yesterday, it sends a shock wave of confidence through the entire team. And that is exactly what it appeared to do!
As I eluded to last week in my previous Monday Gate Drop, Benoit has reached a level in this sport that most of us can only dream about. Like a snowball rolling down a hill, Benoit’s confidence and self belief has been growing all summer. With Ryan Dungey-like talent, the work ethic of a coal miner, and former Canadian MX legend JSR whispering sweet somethings in his ear at every chance he gets, Kaven Benoit is doing everything right at the moment. As I always tell young riders when they asked me how to get good starts, “ Since I haven’t holeshotted too many motos that I didn’t think I would before the gate dropped, you have to believe in yourself.” Obviously, Kaven Benoit is reeling in self belief as you don’t get that good of a start against the world’s best by accident. So with Benoit setting the tone for the day with his amazing ride in the opening moto, his teammates also seemed to sense that this would be a special day. On more than one occasion, Shawn Maffenbeier and Tyler Medaglia found themselves way back in the pack on the hilly and hard to pass Maggiore track, but to their credit, they scratched and clawed their way past riders and into a position that helped secure Team Canada’s tenth place overall finish.
Team Canada was looking good and feeling good this weekend in Italy. Photo by James Lissimore
It was a glorious day for Team Canada. I think a big part of yesterday’s success was due to the preparation and planning that was done by Team Manager Kourtney Lloyd. From the moment she got the task of guiding Team Canada’s 2016 MXON effort, Kourtney was in serious planning mode and in the end she was able to give the riders everything they needed to be successful. However, in the end, it wasn’t the rented house or team’s personal chef, it was the grit and determination showed by the entire team when it mattered the most. Of course, I’m sure the large Italian villa, complete with a million dollar view, and Wolfgang Puck cooking up a storm didn’t hurt the team’s performance. Congratulations to Team Canada and everyone involved with this effort. Now it’s time to think about next year when this big event moves to Glen Helen.
With Canada’s amazing top ten finish yesterday, as well as a few other great individual efforts, the heartbreak of the day has to go to Team USA. On a track that brought so much glory to the USA exactly 30 years ago, this time around, with victory in their sights, they sadly let it slip away. Even with team leader Jason Anderson sitting in a local hospital after getting landed on while celebrating a moto win, Team USA still had a chance win during the final moto. But, when Cooper Webb made a small mistake and crashed, Team USA’s hopes were dashed and it was Team France who held on to take the overall win and the bragging rights until 2017. I’m sure that without Anderson’s horrific crash, Team USA would’ve been victorious. Considering they were missing riders like Ryan Dungey and Eli Tomac, a win yesterday would’ve been a huge accomplishment. With the last few years being so disappointing for Team USA, I would expect them to pull out all the stops for 2017 with this event being on their home soil. Maybe they should hire Kourtney to help plan their 2017 effort?
So while we celebrate our team’s great achievement in Italy, we look closer to home and the upcoming Rockstar Energy Canadian National AX Championships that begin on October 8th in Sarnia, Ontario. With riders like Matt Goerke, Jess Pettis, Cole Thompson and Kaven Benoit all ready to go, this series is going to be incredible. There is also a host of fast, young riders like Marco Cannella, Austin Watling and Tanner Ward who will be lining up in Sarnia, so there is going to be plenty of exciting action in every class. It all kicks off at Hiawatha Horse Park in two weeks. For additional info, please visit www.arenacrosstour.ca.
I’d like to send out a big get well to my fellow plus 40 rider Dan Tricco, as well as Canadian dirt track legend Steve Beattie. Both riders suffered big crashes this past weekend and I hope they’re doing okay. Heal up boys and I hope to see you back on the track soon. That is it for me this week. I hope everyone has a great week, and if you live in Ontario, don’t forget about Sandstorm this weekend at Gopher Dunes. On Saturday there will be racing on their new AX track, and on Sunday the action moves to the big track. Be there or be square!
