Herlings v Cairoli – the battle of the sand masters in Italy?

There haven’t been too many battles so far between Antonio Cairoli and Jeffrey Herlings this season, except for the first moto in Germany.

Even in Valkenawaard they never got out of the gate together and in the first moto in Russia, Cairoli was more interested in surviving the mud than going all out to beat Herlings, such is the prerogative of Cairoli with such a big points lead.

This weekend however is a sand race in Italy. If there is anywhere Cairoli will want to beat Herlings it is a sand track in his home country!

We saw the type of ride Cairoli put in at Arco earlier in the season to come from dead last and catch Gajser on a hard-pack circuit that isn’t his favourite. And now, with Herlings back on form and many people calling him the fastest sand rider on the planet, Cairoli will no doubt want to prove people wrong and show that he is the best sand rider in the world and prove it by beating Herlings with the Italian crowd behind him.

Starts will be critical of course, but with Herlings seemingly getting out of the gate better recently, we might finally see the two best sand riders in the world go head-to-head for the first time and find out who really has the most speed on the terrain that tends to separate both riders from the rest of the pack.

Motivation will be very high from both. This won’t be about the world championship, this will be two alpha-males, who both think they are the sand kings, wanting to prove to the other who really is the best sand rider in the world!

Let’s just hope they both get the start and we finally see the battle the world has been waiting for – Herlings v Cairoli going at it in a sand GP!