Team Belgium ended a 13-year wait for the Chamberlain Trophy on Sunday, winning the 79th Motocross of Nations at Ernée before a record crowd of 105,000.
The trio of Lucas Coenen, Sacha Coenen and Liam Everts—son of the legendary Stefan Everts—combined for 23 points after the dropped score. They held off Spain by just three points on a steep, hardpacked course in northern France.
Three points, one trophy
Lucas Coenen set the tone with a lonely third in the opening moto, racing for the first time since a wildcard appearance in July. His twin Sacha crashed early but recovered to 12th on his 250.
SMX champion Jorge Prado went 2-2 after a small tip-off cost him the lead in race one. The nation’s first-ever MXoN podium came down to the wire at 26 points, while the Netherlands completed the rostrum on 34 points behind Jeffrey Herlings’ perfect 1-1 sweep.
France falls, Belgium rises
Host nation France unravelled early. Crashes from Mathis Valin and Tom Vialle buried their chances despite Romain Febvre winning the first moto. Team USA finished fifth with 53 points as Cooper Webb led the effort on a new machine.
The Belgian trio, one of the youngest rosters in event history, kept their nerve as temperatures rose and the breeze stiffened on Sunday. Lucas Coenen, still building race fitness, admitted the physical toll. “Last week I could barely do 10 minutes but we kept working,” he told reporters afterwards. “Belgium is back on top and I love it.”
The result marks Belgium’s 16th Motocross of Nations title. It was delivered by 19-year-old twins already carrying Grand Prix-winning pedigree into the record books.
