Battle of the Year, Championship Stakes & Dominance at Lommel

The hype was real for the Sunday’s races of 2025 MXGP of Flanders in Lommel, Belgium. And the fans got everything they have hoped for. Intense battles between the top rivals and highlights that will stick into every motocross fan’s memory for a while.

MXGP

Race one

We were all wondering the same question before the MXGP race. Will Lucas Coenen beat Romain Febvre and steal the red plate from him, or will Febvre respond and defend his lead.

The world stood still as the 15-second sign went up in the air, engines roaring, clutches just waiting to be released. But it was the championship leader, Romain Febvre who had the fastest reaction and took the Fox Holeshot, ahead of Isak Gifting and Jeffrey Herlings.

Championship rival Lucas Coenen started around 7th place, but it only took him a moment to put himself into the 5th spot. By the end of the opening lap, he’s already climbed his way up to 3rd place with a pass on Gifting.

A lap later, on a jump just before the pit lane he launched himself up to the air without any overthinking. That action move got him a 2nd place as he flew past Jeffrey Herlings. The sight was set – Febvre was supposed to be the next victim.

While Lucas was on his way towards Romain Febvre, Herlings went down in a s-section. He picked himself up on 8th place, where he would also finish the race. For some seconds the fans lost their breath as they saw Jago Geerts flying over the handlebars on a big jump.

Calvin Vlaanderen, also a rider known for his sand mastery skills was on a charge. He worked his way up and towards the end of the race made a move on Isak Gifting to take over the third place.

But what a spectacle we were watching between Lucas Coenen and Romain Febvre. It was a battle for championship, pride and legacy. They were attacking each other relentlessly. No one tough of giving up, even for a second.

On lap 12, Coenen did the same action move on Febvre, as he did before on Herlings as he launched himself to the sky on the jump before the pit lane. On many races this year, if Febvre got passed by Coenen, he couldn’t respond to it.

This time it was different. There were just too many narratives written about how Lucas is getting closer and closer to the red plate, and Febvre responded. He just wasn’t going to let that one slip away. Shortly after he lost the lead, he attacked from the inside and used a small mistake from Coenen, blocked his way and took over the lead.

One more mistake from Coenen allowed Febvre to take it easier towards the finish line and win the race.

What a race, what a battle.

Calvin Vlaanderen, Isak Gifting and Glenn Coldenhoff concluded the top 5.

Race two

The second race started with a big surprise as Jeffrey Herlings shot himself out of the gate and took his first Fox Holeshot since 2021. Isak Gifting and Romain Febvre were right behind. Herlings then immediately went all in and made a gap between himself and the rest of the field. Lucas Coenen was 5th after the holeshot line, behind Andrea Bonacorsi.

Coenen soon lost a position as Calvin Vlaanderen charged on the inside, but both of them gained a position as Isak Gifting said “hello” to the sand of Lommel.

Lucas Coenen then went to work. He knew needed to win the race if he wanted to step on the top of the podium in front of the home crowd. The show was about to begin as he soon passed Vlaanderen and Bonacorsi and went after Romain Febvre.

And just as Jeffrey Herlings was riding smoothly in the front, he made a mistake, lost the legs in the whoops section, therefore lost balance and crashed. That mistake costed him the lead as Romain Febvre and Lucas Coenen went by.

Coenen was on a mission. The pace by the leaders was high and in both races, unmatched by the rest of the field. A class above all the others. But then on a s-turn bumpy section Lucas went all in and it became loud in Lommel. Romain went around the bumps to keep the speed, but Lucas somehow flew over the bumps keeping a faster pace and shorter line and after the s-turn he got himself in front of Febvre. As elite move as it gets.

Febvre didn’t have an answer in this race and Coenen would cruise towards the victory in front of his home fans. Tied in points with Febvre, but due to a win in second race, the GP win belonged to Lucas Coenen and with that win he became the first Belgian to win in Lommel since 2016.

Jeffrey Herlings though fell 3 more times during the race and would only finish in 8th place.

Third place belonged to Andrea Bonacorsi, with Glenn Coldenhoff and Calvin Vlaanderen concluding the top 5.

MX2

Race one

In MX2 there was only one question that was swimming through motocross fans. Will Kay de Wolf deliver? He knew that. And he answered.

The fastest reactions belonged to RedBull KTM Factory Racing’s Sacha Coenen, with Kay de Wolf and Andrea Adamo right behind him and Simon Lägenfelder and Camden McLellan completing the top 5.

McLellan quicky went to work and in the first lap got himself to 3rd place. Also Kay de Wolf wasn’t waiting for too long and by the end of the first lap, Coenen made a mistake. He made a move and took over the lead.

Coenen had an unlucky race, similar to yesterday’s qualifying race as he was having troubles staying on two wheels. He crashed 2 times during that race, but still managed to finish fourth.

Things looked good for Simon Lägenfelder but later on, he made a mistake and got thrown of his bike. He lost a couple of positions, but picked himself up and would eventually finish in 7th place.

Kay de Wolf was in a class of his own. No one could match his pace. He answered the call and delivered in a fashion only he could. After he took the lead, he never looked back and at the end, he finished 28,7 seconds ahead of Camden McLellan.

Andrea Adamo rode solid all race on third, without making any bigger mistakes and at the end taking 20 points from this race.

The fifth spot was taken by the Frenchman Mathis Valin.

Race two

Also in the second race Sacha Coenen was the fastest out of the gate with Kay de Wolf and Valerio Lata right behind him. Simon Lägenfelder and Thibault Benistan completed the top 5.

In the second lap, again Kay de Wolf made a move on Sacha Coenen to take over the lead and never looked back. In the first few laps he made a gap of 10 seconds and simply managed the race till the end. No one was on his level to bother him this time.

Sacha Coenen had to make up for the mistakes he’s made in the previous race and in qualifying races. This time he was focused. didn’t make any major mistakes. Had the pace just fast enough, not to be bothered by the riders behind him. And he did that throughout the whole race and finished the race 2nd – 11,4 seconds behind Kay de Wolf.

The championship leader Simon Lägenfelder wasn’t waiting for long. On lap 3, he made a move on the Italian Valerio Lata, to take the third spot. On the same lap also Camden McLellan got himself to 4th. He would eventually make a move also on Lägenfelder to take over the 3rd spot.

Also Mathis Valin got the better of Valerio Lata which got him the 5th spot in race 2.

Lommel gave fans everything they’ve hoped for. All the narratives have been answered. Romain Febvre and Lucas Coenen both showed their true fighting spirit and elite riding though their battles on one of the toughest terrains in the world, while Kay de Wolf has once again proven the doubters wrong and delivered a pure sand masterclass.

Next weekend is off for the riders, after that we are going a little more north for the MXGP of Sweden.

Stay tuned.