The Coenen brothers and Everts: Co-favourites Belgium name strong MXoN squad

Following recent events, the MXGP World Championship title is now a distant prospect for Lucas Coenen, and things aren’t going smoothly for Sacha in the MX2 either. But the MXoN on 4 October in Ernée could ultimately prove to be a consoling end to the season for the Belgians.

Team Belgium named

As in 2025, the Belgian national team will compete with the following line-up:

Belgium’s MXoN Team

Brent van Doninck and Jago Geerts have been named as reserve riders.

Liam Everts startet in der Open-Klasse

Foto: Thoralf Abgarjan

Why Belgium is among the favourites

Belgium’s target this year is a podium finish, and that is more than realistic. Defending champions Australia will not be competing this year, at least not with the Lawrence brothers. Jett and Hunter announced at the start of the season that they would be taking a break this year. It is still unclear at this stage how Team USA will line up. Haiden Deegan, Eli Tomac or RJ Hampshire would be potential candidates for the MXGP/Open classes. In MX2, Ryder DiFrancesco, Levi Kitchen or Chance Hymas are among the possible candidates. They are all good riders, but are they good enough to hold their own against the strongest Europeans?

Belgium’s last victory in the Teutschenthal basin was in 2013

Incidentally, the Belgians’ last triumph was 13 years ago. Team Belgium won at the Teutschenthal circuit with a line-up comprising Clement Desalle, Ken de Dycker and Jeremy van Horebeek. In 2019, Team Belgium finished second on the podium at Assen with Jeremy Van Horebeek, Kevin Strijbos and Jago Geerts.

Who are the favourites for 2026?

Spain could be a force to be reckoned with this year. Jorge Prado is in good form in the US and Guillem Farres is on course for the MX2 World Championship title. The Spanish federation also has Ruben Fernandez and Francisco Garcia to choose from. The Spanish federation therefore has several potential line-ups to choose from, all of which are expected to be strong. The Dutch also have a good chance with Jeffrey Herlings, Kay de Wolf and possibly Kay Karssemakers, and, last but not least, the French are likely to capitalise on their home advantage. With Tom Vialle, Romain Febvre, Maxime Renaux and Mathis Valin, they too are sure to field a strong team. Theoretically, US-based rider Dylan Ferrandis could even be considered as an MXGP/OPEN rider for them.