Dirt and Trail May 2020

for the overall win. I was happy
with a win in the first round, I
didn’t expect that. Valkenswaard
is only thirty minutes from home
so a lot of fans and friends came
to support me . I won the first
heat after a late pass for the lead
with four laps to go. The second
heat my start was very good but
I crashed hard in the second
corner. I restarted in last place
and the leader almost lapped me.
I rode consistent lap times and
felt good on the track. I finished
in seventh place and I was happy
about that because I was so far
behind on the first lap and this
result was enough for my second
podium of the year. The start of
the season was good and I hope
to do the same when the season
restarts again.”
Although you guys only got
two rounds of the World
Championship in, how did you
size up your competition?
Jago: “That’s a difficult question
for me. I just want to focus on
myself. So I don’t look too much
at my competitors. I ride the
best when I focus on myself and I
“Yes, of course. Belgium has had so many
good riders and World Champions in
the past. But at the moment there are
not so many good riders anymore. The
government closed a lot of tracks.”
Geukens is doing a good job with
that. He knows a lot of journalists
and media companies so it is
going in the right direction. It is
important to get Motocross in the
news as much as possible to get it
more popular again.
don’t know how my competitors
deal with that. According to the
updated calendar the season
will start again on seven June in
Russia. Nobody knows how the
situation will evolve with the
Covid-19 virus. So we will need to
wait and see. I hope we can start
again in Russia because otherwise
the season will be so long that
it will be difficult to stay in good
shape the whole time.”
You’re the first Belgian racer to
score a World Championship
win since 2012. A lot of people
love motocross in that nation.
Have you sensed Belgian fans
and media getting behind You?
Jago: “Yes, of course. Belgium
has had so many good riders and
World Champions in the past.
But at the moment there are not
so many good riders anymore.
The government closed a lot of
tracks. We only have around six
tracks in whole Belgium. I hope
that I can achieve good results
the next years so that Motocross
gets more popular again over
here. There are some good talents
coming up the next years. For
example Liam Everts is riding
very good so I hope we can
make Motocross more popular
again. Also, now I start to get
some media attention from the
Belgian media. My manager Stefan
I have you ask you this: Do you
know Stefan Everts? That guy
was a pretty good racer in his
day, eh?
Jago: “Yes, he still is the most
successful Belgian Motocross
rider ever and arguably the best
Motocross rider ever. I don’t know
him really well personally but I
was a fan during his Motocross
career. He had such a nice riding
style and was always so smooth. I
think a lot of riders are jealous of
his style.”
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