Mads Fredsoe finally reminded everyone of the speed and talent that has made him one of the standout riders in the EMX250 class, taking an impressive moto victory at the latest round before cruel mechanical issues robbed him of a likely podium finish. The Danish rider looked comfortable and confident out front, controlling the race despite pressure from his rivals and proving that his winning form is still very much intact.
While the overall result didn’t reflect the pace he showed throughout the weekend, Fredsoe was keen to focus on the positives after a frustrating start to the season that has included bad luck, DNFs and technical issues. Despite those setbacks, he remains positive and believes he is close to rediscovering his very best form.
We caught up with Fredsoe as he discusses his breakthrough moto win, the challenges he has faced so far this season, his confidence heading into the second half of the year, plans to move into MX2 full-time in 2027, and why he believes the current EMX250 field is one of the strongest in recent memory.
GateDrop: Mads, I mean, finally, in that first moto, you reminded everyone of how much talent you have and what you can do on a bike, so, I mean, how did it feel to win again? It must be a big relief if anything else, you know you’ve still got it in you?
Fredsoe: For sure. You know, I got a good start and made my way up to first place pretty quickly. It was a bit difficult actually, because with the lines and stuff, obviously I could hear, I had a good battle, but, you know, in front you kind of need to make your own lines. But, I did it and in the end won, so that was such a nice feeling, finally winning. I know I’m capable of it and we’ve put a lot of work in, so that was just awesome.
But the second moto today, obviously a different story. I didn’t finish, it’s like having a penalty kick, it’s right there and shooting it to the barriers or whatever. The bike, on the sighting lap the clutch didn’t work, so we changed the bike on the sighting lap and when I went the front brake also didn’t work, so the front wheel didn’t spin, so I had to DNF. The podium was right there but anyways, I try to take the positive and take the first moto with me and that’s it.
GateDrop: Just on the first moto, I mean, you looked pretty comfortable doing it, that must give you a bit of confidence. I know Gyan got close a few times, but you were able to pull away at the end, so the way you done it must have felt pretty good…
Fredsoe: You know, I was confident and it wasn’t like it felt really difficult. I was trying just to get in the flow and to not stress. Honestly, it wasn’t too difficult so I’m happy with it.
GateDrop: Just on the start of this season, I mean, what’s it been like? To be honest, I expect a little bit more of you, but you probably expect more of yourself as well. Has it been frustrating?
Fredsoe: It has been frustrating. I feel like I’ve had a bit of bad luck and a bit of stuff happened with the bike and some mistakes from my side as well. It’s kind of both things, but I’m still P5 in the championship somehow with some mistakes and some DNFs. It’s obviously not really what we wanted, but we have more races to go so we just try to look at that.
GateDrop: Just on the team, I mean, they’re a relatively new team in the paddock and they’ve had this upward trajectory in the paddock, which has been quite impressive, but it does feel like the start of this year is sort of their first, not problems, where it’s evened out. It feels like all you guys haven’t been at your full potential yet, but hopefully that’s about to change…
Fredsoe: I mean, all respect to the team, we’re all working really hard and all the guys involved are good guys and working hard for it. I feel like just some bike failures and some small, easy mistakes have been there so I feel like that’s been a bit unfortunate. But all respect to the team, they’re really good guys.
GateDrop: After Arco, there was a bit of a break, which is unheard of in MXGP. Obviously, you had a few ADAC races, but apart from that, what did you do, did you spend time getting the bike to how you like it?
Fredsoe: Yeah, we spent time testing a little bit and just getting more training in and doing the ADAC races. So, yeah, we spent some good time working. I was also in Denmark for a bit, training back home so that’s always nice. I enjoy that a lot as well so we did some really good work.
GateDrop: I mean, how far off do you think you are being the best version of Mads Fredsoe again? Obviously, winning is always good, but I still feel like there’s maybe an extra step or two…
Fredsoe: I felt like I showed pretty good things yesterday with the moto win. It just needs to click for me. In my opinion, I’m almost there but just give me a little bit more luck, a little bit more something and then I’m right there. But anyways, we have more races, so we’ll just go for it and keep the chin up. Even though I missed the podium today but anyways, we keep the chin up and move forward. We have a lot more chances, so that’s what we’ll do.
GateDrop: I mean, EMX250 every year, it seems like the level’s higher and higher. I mean, you’ve got Janis Reisulis moving out of the class, but Francisco Garcia has stepped up to the plate there. Just what’s the level like this year?
Fredsoe: Yeah, the level is really good. You can also see with Reisulis in the MX2 class this year, he’s really strong and very good. So, I feel like this shows a bit how the class is and also with Garcia, he’s also really strong. He also showed good things in France. I feel this is just strong series and we’re all good riders. If the top ten goes into the MX2 World Championship, for sure there are going to be battles all over the place so the class is strong.
GateDrop: I just done an interview with Liam Owens, he said he’s going to do two MX2 GPs this year, is that the plan for you as well?
Fredsoe: Yes, Foxhill and Loket.
GateDrop: Are you looking forward to that? Because, I mean, as the year goes on, you’ll probably start to think about next year, and you’ll probably want to line up in MX2 at some stage…
Fredsoe: Next year is for sure MX2. We don’t want to do another year in the EMX250 class so that’s the goal. So, we will get some more races under our belt so hopefully next year we can do a full MX2 season.
GateDrop: Just on Denmark, I’m not sure if you watched the first AMA Pro Motocross, but was it was nice to see Mikkel Haarup do well, Magnus Smith didn’t get so much TV time, but was it nice to see him also line up there?
Fredsoe: Yeah, he got the holeshot in the first moto and a top 10. Mikkel is a good guy and he’s strong.
