Joel Roelants initially selected a very young team for team Belgium for this years MXoN with the average age being 18 years old! Sadly, Liam Everts picked up a neck injury in China but the main thing is he’ll make a full recovery after a scary incident. As a result Jago Geerts has been drafted in to race for Belgium in the open class.
It’s still a very young team with the average age still being 19 years old! But they have a lot of potential and especially for the future it could be a dream team.
We caught up with new team manager of the Belgian team, Joel Roelants to discuss the team and more…
GateDrop: Joel, this is your first year having the team manager role for Belgium’s MXoN team. How did this all come about you getting the role?
Roelants: Yeah, Johan (Boonen) just asked me to do it and after some thinking, I decided someone had to take responsibility and try to get a good drive in Team Belgium. So, then I did it.
GateDrop: Just how hard was it picking the team this year? Initially you selected Sacha (MX2), Everts (Open) and Coenen (MXGP), a very young team with the average age of 18! But obviously so much potential. Was it hard or easy to come to that decision?
Roelants: Initially when we decided to pick the team, it was not so hard because at that time, actually Sacha, Liam and Lucas were the only three guys who already won GP’s this year and were completely healthy. At that time, Jago and Brent were just injured or just coming back. So at that time, it was not a difficult decision.
GateDrop: Was it hard to tell Jago Geerts and Brent van Doninck that they weren’t selected?
Roelants: It was not really hard to tell them that they were not selected. I think, in my opinion, they have to accept it. If every rider on the team this year won two GP’s or more and the other ones were injured and not getting fit so soon or not getting the same results, at that time, it was quite easy.
GateDrop: You’ve been hit with the injury of Liam Everts. That was scary but there’s more to life than Motocross and it sounds like he is going to be just fine, so that is the main thing!
Roelants: Yeah, now with the injury of Liam, it was scary for him. But yeah, I think he realises that life is more than motocross also, of course. But yeah, for me, the main thing, what I told him is that everything is going to be fine and that he regains his feeling quite soon. And yeah, that’s the most important thing. The broken bones, it doesn’t matter, they will heal. So yeah, motocross is tough and injuries are unfortunately part of the game.
GateDrop: I guess it was between Jago Geerts and Brent van Doninck for the open slot. Was it tough to make this decision?
Roelants:Â Yeah, to make this decision between Brent and Jago, in one part, it’s hard if you see the results at that time or at this time. But in the other part, also Brent had a really difficult season with injuries. Then now again, a surgery on the foot. Plus also, if they are both 100 percent, then it’s really easy to choose. So I know that Jago has gotten a lot fitter over the last one or two months. All the injuries are finally gone.
They are fine-tuning some other stuff. Obviously, I have some inside information as well when I talk to the guys or to the team members. So it was not so tough to make the decision. In the end, we also go there to go for the best possible result. And we don’t go there just to make sure we get a sixth or seventh spot. No, we try to aim for more.
GateDrop: Jago has had to deal with all sorts of injuries this year literally from the word go. In fact he’s only managed to race one MXGP round this year and last both days (Arnhem)… To be honest I was thinking a mental reset might be best for him to come back swinging in 2025 but he’ll race Matterley. I assume you perhaps spoke to him about it and he was all in so then you had no doubt to select him?
Roelants: That’s pretty much it. With Jago, all kinds of injuries, yes, that’s true. And about a mental reset… I think he was mentally ready. But yeah, it’s his first year on the 450cc. If you had a whole winter, coming back from an injury already or not, like starting directly after the season with testing and everything going good, yeah, then it’s already more difficult.
Then the whole year, almost not riding because of the injury in Argentina. Then you have a really big setback and he just needs time to get back. But I think with the teammates that he has that he can also see where his speed is now. I think they are really going the right direction. So I expect him to be, his level is going to be a lot better than the one GP he did.
GateDrop: What do we expect from Jago there? It’s probably a tough one to predict… but hopefully he can get back on track soon and no better place than the MXoN!
Roelants:Â What I expect from Jago, well, he’s going to be in the open class. Okay, the MX of Nations is one of the biggest or is the biggest motocross race maybe in the world. But the field is not always the deepest because, yeah, some countries have a lot of good guys that are not there. But I think if he can take good starts and normally that time of the year, the weather can be sh*t, or it can also be good.
But if there are by the second and the third race, some lines, the speed is going to be a little bit lower… I think that suits his style. So, yeah, I really hope we can help him to just get like a solid performance there. If he can already do better than what we expect, yeah, then it’s good. And if not, then not. But we will just try to support him as good as possible and then see where he ends up.
GateDrop: Do you think we might see Jago race the MXGP finale at Spain now? It would be good prep for Matterley…
Roelants: About the last race in Spain, it’s still to be decided. But I know with testing and stuff, I don’t think they are 100 percent there yet. So for me, it also doesn’t matter if he races that one or not. He has a lot of experience and he has an experienced team behind him. So I think he knows what’s best for himself.
He’s not a guy that goes over his limits anyway. So if he goes on the practice, obviously you need some competition to get better. But he’s for sure in MX2 the last five years, he was one of the top riders. So, I think he knows what he needs to do to get back to that level. MXGP is a different ball game, yes. But on the other way, it’s also the same… It’s still the same sport. So, he knows how to ride the bike and I fully trust on that.
GateDrop: How do you feel about Lucas Coenen having his first race on the 450cc (I assume 450cc and not 350cc) at the MXoN?
Roelants: Yeah, Lucas, he was actually really motivated to ride a 450cc. I cannot go too much into detail, but pretty much the question already came from him. So also, yeah, I cannot go too much in detail on this either, but he’s really motivated to go on the 450cc. And if we see how talented he is and what kind of races he did already this year, I think he’s our top rider with the form he’s in for the moment.
Yeah, we can assume a lot from him, but it can also be not 100%. So we’ll have to see. But I think he can surprise many of us.
GateDrop: Has Lucas done any/much riding on the bigger bike yet? Liam told me he was going to do some testing after Switzerland so was that the same for Lucas? If so how is he looking and what do you expect from him at Matterley?
Roelants: Lucas has done some testing already, obviously. Also for his future, I guess. Then with Liam, I went with him one day to see a test and just also to get to know him (Lucas) a bit better on training day and on race day, what to say or what not to say to the riders. To see where I can maybe help him or leave him alone, because every rider is different. My job is to get every rider as good as possible on the starting gate and make sure all three of them are happy and motivated.
But motivation is not going to be the point. We’re just going to try to work as a team and help each other and get them to not 100%, but to 110% that they can help each other. It’s three really talented riders. So, all three of them have special gifts and they can help each other as well, I think, on the weekend. So that’s what we’re going to try to create
GateDrop: Sacha has missed the last two GP’s, what is the latest on his condition? Is he 100% going to race Matterley?
Roelants: Yes, Sacha, he missed the last two GPs, correct. He has an injury sustained in Sweden and actually just kept riding with it. He should have actually stopped earlier, but he’s just a really tough guy. Now that he’s off the bike for a few weeks or just riding a lot less, his recovery goes really well. So I think in Spain, he will be quite good already. I think by Matterley, he’s going to be close to 100% again.
GateDrop: There’s some talk Lucas may race MXGP next year, what do you think the best move for his career would be – staying MX2 or making the move up to MXGP?
Roelants: It’s not really my responsibility to judge him or anything. He needs to do what he feels good with. I think if he feels ready for it, then for sure he can do that. He’s really talented. He also has the height already and he’s quite strong.
So I think it can be a good move. He can also be unlucky and then people will say it’s a bad move. But I think he has all the skill and the knowledge to already do it. So yeah, that’s my opinion.
GateDrop: In terms of Belgium at the MXoN – what’s your goals for Matterley Basin?
Roelants: The goals for Team Belgium are actually really easy. I just want all three riders to perform at their very best and we will try to help them as good as possible so that they can get the maximum out of themselves on this weekend and try to make the best possible result.
Obviously, for sure, the Coenen brothers, when they speak, they speak with fire and they want to go there to win, which I also want to do, of course. Jago is less vocal, but I also know that deep inside of him there is also fire to just go for the maximum. But I think realistically, if we can get all three riders close to their best performance, I think realistically we can go for a podium. It’s also possible that we can go for more, but it’s also really possible that we have to settle for less. So all I ask is that the riders go all in and then we will see where we end up. So from my side, there is no pressure, there is no stress.
They just need to have fun. It’s the last race of the year and it’s a team race. It’s a completely different atmosphere and they just need to enjoy it and then the performance will hopefully also come.
