Slaw Dog
Team France have confirmed their team for the 2021 Motocross of Nations and it’s probably not the team you were expecting.
Current 450 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross points leader Dylan Ferrandis will not compete, neither will Romain Febvre, who is currently second in the FIM Motocross World Championship.
There are reasons behind this move, though. Ferrandis’ Star Racing Yamaha team is moving their base from California to Florida after the Pro Motocross season and there is rumors that due to the move, they wouldn’t be able to support members of the team at the event this year.
Febvre, on the other hand, has stated that he wants to remain focused on the title chase in MXGP. The 2021 Motocross of Nations takes place on September 25-26 in Mantova, on the weekend between rounds 10 and 11 of the championship.
So, with those two riders out, the Fédération Française de Motocyclisme has turned to Marvin Musquin (MXGP), 2020 MX2 World Champion Tom Vialle (MX2) and Mathys Boisrame (Open). Neither Vialle nor Boisrame have ever competed for the team. Musquin is returning for the first time since 2015.
Vialle was slated to ride for the team in 2019, but was removed from the team after a dispute over his Red Bull KTM team logo and the Team France gear. Maxime Renaux, who replaced Vialle in 2019 and is the current MX2 points leader, was also not selected. We assume he’s decided to focus on the championship instead of racing MXoN.
After dealing with injury to start the season, Vialle is currently 11th in the MX2 World Championship, while Boisrame sits in seventh. Musquin is eighth in the Pro Motocross Championship, which returns from a two week break this weekend at Unadilla.
Team France won the event five straight times from 2014 through 2019 before being upended by the Netherlands on home soil at Assen in 2019.
The 2020 Motocross of Nations was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Main image: KTM Images
