If you were by any chance searching for moments to take your breath away or moments to keep your mouth open, you certainly found some this Sunday in Uddevalla, Sweden.
The world was watching, counting down the GP’s to when Lucas Coenen would take the red plate from Romain Febvre. He got close. But Febvre has done something he’s never done before.
Also something else was awakening. Maybe viking spirit, maybe the energies from the forests of Uddevalla region were sending power to their local hero. We’ll never know, but there was something that empowered a tale that the Swedish will be able to tell for generations to come.
Get ready!
The Awakening
The day has begun. The mist from the Swedish forests has risen and the Sun started to shine on the beautiful hard pack track in Uddevalla.
The stakes were high this weekend. Everyone knew, the battle for the first place would be fierce, but little did they know, that they are going to encounter something never seen before.
Isak Gifting was getting ready. Blue and Yellow combo, viking helmet. All set to make the nation proud.
Lucas Coenen, the 18-year old isn’t anymore just a rookie, but a true title contender. The only one, who can take this year’s throne, besides Romain Febvre. And after the Belgian GP win, Lucas was looking ahead,
Romain has changed. In Lommel they were tied on points with Lucas and even if Coenen won at the end, Febvre showed that he is not letting this one go.
Frenchman said: “Au Revoir”
It was game time. The riders went out, music went on and Uddevalla was painted in yellow and blue. Flags, smoke, loudness everywhere where Isak rode.
The riders lined up at the gate. The anticipation was growing and everyone was waiting for the first gate drop.
Febvre released the clutch the quickest and shot himself out of the gates, way ahead of everyone. Never looked back and escaped.
Jeffrey Herlings was 2nd and Isak Gifting started a 3rd place battle with Tim Gajser.
The battle was brutal.
They were going side by side, no one could really make a gap. Gifting was defending amazingly and Gajser just couldn’t get past.
The battle was going on for the moment, the fans were loud, but then something happened.
Something no one wanted to see.
Gifting went short on a jump, Gajser went long. They colided and both went down. The fans were watching the drama as their favorite rider went down together with the 5-time world champion.
But after a moment, luckily they both stood up.
Gifting started the bike and went on. Not the same for Gajser. The bike had issues and couldn’t continue, so Gajser was forced to retire from the first race he was back after the injury.
But this race was all about Romain Febvre. Lucas Coenen had a horrible start and started from the back.
Febvre took the chance. Led all the way until the end and in a dominant fashion explained to the world, that the battle is far from over.
The Viking Emerges
The pain within Isak Gifting was big from the first race, but as you’ll soon get to know, it only made him stronger.
Once again, we were waiting for the gates to drop. And again it was the Febvre who had the fastest reaction.
But this race, he didn’t say:”Au Revoir”. He couldn’t. Actually for most of the race the top 5 riders were within 5 seconds. But Coenen went down soon after the start, making yet again one very bad start.
Herlings was 2nd, Gajser was 3rd and there was also the local hero, Isak Gifting, ready for the challenge.
Isak was trying hard, attacking Gajser, while defending his position from the Factory Yamaha’s of Calvin Vlaanderen and Maxime Renaux.
The intensity around Isak Gifting was on another level.
It was only elite factory riders all around the young Swede. But he didn’t flinch. The fans gave him the power, they watched every move he made and they supported him all around the track.
And then came the moment. Tim Gajser fell, dropped the bike and Gifting was suddenly third.
For a while he then defended the attacks from the factory Yamaha’s behind him, when all of a sudden, there was Herlings and Febvre just in front of him.
2 laps to go.
Gifting takes an inner line on a technical section of the track, gets past Herlings and takes over the second place.
As crazy as that was, that wasn’t the end.
He continued towards the Kawasaki rider and on the last lap, on the same place as he passed Herlings, he made a move.
Again on the inside, just as he did to Herlings. He took over the 1st place and was riding towards his first ever MXGP race win in his career. And to make it even better, it was in front of his home fans.
The heart rate of the Swedish fans at the track and behind the screens was high, very high. But not just the Swedish fans. Every motocross fan, who was watching the race, was pumped with adrenaline, just waiting to witness a historic moment.
Everything was going perfectly well.
But then… Something happened.
Not long before the finish, a right turn came. And Isak’s front wheel slipped.
He went down.
The heart stopped for many fans on the cliffs next to the track.
It was a heartbreaking moment for everyone. So close, but still so far away.
Febvre went by and won the race. He perfected the weekend and took all 60 points, something he’s never done before.
Tears of Joy and Sadness
Romain Febvre took full advantage this weekend. He won everything he could and extended the championship lead to 41 points.
This is a major advantage with only 4 more rounds to go. Can the Frenchman bring home his 2nd MXGP World title this year?
We expected a show in Sweden, but we didn’t expect that. Isak Gifting gave the fans something to watch. He gave them hope and something to cheer for.
He gave the people more than they’ve asked for and even though he didn’t win the race, he won people’s hearts.
Isak, thank you!
You can also listen to this story here:
Thank you for so beautiful story!