Douwe van Mechgelen of Team Seven Motorsport secured sixth place overall at the KNMV MX Nationals in Meijel. Van Mechgelen showed good speed throughout the day but was unable to fully convert his potential into the desired result. In particular, the high pace he set during the opening stages of the second moto took its toll later in the race.
Van Mechgelen rode a solid first moto. According to the rider himself, he was lacking a little intensity in the opening stages, which prevented him from immediately joining the front group.
As the moto progressed, however, Douwe found his rhythm and improved his pace. Towards the end of the race, his speed was close to that of the leading group, giving him confidence heading into the second moto.
Van Mechgelen made a strong start to the second moto and quickly moved up to fourth position. In his pursuit of the riders ahead, however, he pushed himself a little too hard during the opening stages.
That high pace eventually took its toll. Van Mechgelen suffered from arm pump and was therefore no longer able to ride as freely as he had in the opening laps. From that point onwards, it became mainly a battle with the track to finish the race as strongly as possible.
After the two motos, Douwe was classified sixth overall.
Douwe van Mechgelen: “The first moto was solid. I was just lacking a little intensity at the beginning, but towards the end I wasn’t far off the pace of the leading group. In the second moto, I quickly moved up to fourth, but I pushed too hard at the beginning and it caught up with me later on. I suffered from arm pump and from that point onwards it was mainly a battle with the track.”
