Motocross
Heavyweight Jeffrey Herlings races to victory as he K.O.s the competition at Red Bull Knock Out.
Ramon pitted too, returning second place to Coldenhoff. The question was, what was going to happen after 60 minutes of racing, when the X-Loop opened?
New for 2016, the X-Loop is a super tough and technical section that came into play in the final 45 minutes of the race. It included the rollers: hefty logs that threatened to break the spirits – and bikes – of the exhausted riders.
While it changed the course to suit Enduro World Championship racer Watson's skills, by the time it opened, Herlings already had a lead of two minutes.
Into the minefield
10 minutes after the X-Loop opened, Watson passed Coldenhoff for second place. He refused to give up though, opening up the throttle to keep in touch with the Brit and trading places again and again; Watson leading on the straight, but Coldenhoff quicker through the whoops.
It was thrilling stuff but Coldenhoff had to relent and take on more fuel, leaving Watson to chase Herlings.
Herlings, meanwhile, had enough of an advantage that he could make his second pitstop and still come out in the lead.
“The track was pretty flat first, which made it easier for everyone,” said Herlings at the end. “When it got rougher, it became more like an MXGP track, I felt more at home and could overtake."
"Other riders here are really specialists at this. I showed them I can do it as well. This was a great race and I had a great lead. It went really well and that is just amazing.
"I think this is the hardest beach race in the world. I know when I see my bed tonight, I’ll fall asleep immediately.”
1000 riders try to stay the course
Red Bull Knock Out is also a race against the elements, as the riders compete against freezing winds, the rising tide and a sandy 5km track that gets tougher and rougher with every passing bike.
For 2016, the riders were faced with a completely new track, beginning with a 2.5km sprint along the shores of the freezing North Sea, before turning into a tight, technical section with more than 57 jumps. After 60 minutes of racing, a bruising new section was added to the track, the X-Loop, featuring an additional 30 jumps and a log section to test the exhausted riders to breaking point in the final 45 minutes of racing.
Bright start for Herlings
It was Herlings who set the pace in the morning qualifying race, which featuring 1000 riders taking part in the mass start from the bottom of the famous pier.
The first 100 riders to set off, included big names like Glenn Coldenhoff, Steve Ramon and Nathan Watson alongside specialist sand racers like defending champion Axel van de Sande and Camille Chapelière.
First honours went to Watson, who took the holeshot, but he was soon overhauled by Chapelière. Herlings meanwhile was held up by a botched refueling stop, which meant he had to stop for a second time. He came roaring out of the pits and soon took the lead, gliding past Chapelière to take a popular opening win.