While we all remember that stunning 2021 season, when Jeffrey Herlings, Romain Febvre and Tim Gajser fought until the final Grand Prix of the season, with Herlings winning and taking his fifth World motocross championship, I still think this season, despite the early season domination of defending champion, Jorge Prado will produce something similar to 2021.

Prado, who has won a stunning five GPs from the six run, has looked at times unbeatable, but I think we can all see the other three of the big four, are getting a little closer. Prado is still the man by some length, but I just have a feeling, the other three will gain some speed soon, maybe even this weekend in what is looking like a muddy French GP at the St Jean d’Angely circuit.

The Red Bull GasGas factory rider is very confident though, and even if the rain does arrive in France, which seems to be assured, you can count on Prado improving on his Portugal muddy mess. He has also noticed whenever behind the other three, that they are pushing a lot harder than he is.

“They take more risks than I do,” Prado told mxlarge. “That doesn’t mean I can’t crash, or they don’t crash, just different riding styles. Maybe to go on the same speed, they need to go on the limit and that is clear, you can see it obviously. They also make a lot of noise with the bike, it feels like for me, that they are riding a different track, or they just ride with a different style, and it isn’t better or worse, it is just different. They go fast, but I was fastest yesterday and again today. You guys (the media) say if I don’t get the starts, I can’t pass, but I proved I can not get the start and can come up through the pack. It is just a matter of the track, matter if I feel good or not. I know if I make a mistake, they will get me and we are the best in the World and they are such good riders, they guys behind me in the championship are super good, but if I make a small mistake, they beat me and I am fully focused on the gate.”

Prado loves the hard pack circuit in France and has won in that country on a handful of occasions, while his last French GP win was back in 2019 in the MX2 class, many of his most recent GP victories have come on hard pack circuits.

“I think St Jean d’ Angely is a good track for me, because I already won a few times in France and it is hard pack and I like that and also many ruts and that suits my style, St Jean is also one of my favourite tracks, so I am really looking forward to it. I don’t know the weather predictions (rain is forecast), but hopefully it will be like today, or maybe we need to try and improve from Portugal.”

What of last weekends runner-up rider Jeffrey Herlings of the Red Bull KTM Factory team. Despite not really looking anything like “The Bullet” of old, and his typically diesel like build-up in a season is much slower than previous years, the nearly 30-year-old still has some confidence, he can be a six-time World motocross champion come the end of the 2024 season.

“I still believe in the championship,” Herlings said. “I know it is very far away and I am not just battling one guy, I am battling three guys. If I want to be competitive, I have to start winning. I can keep finding excuses and I am not making excuses; I just need to click it all together. Like yesterday (Saturday) I took a holeshot and still messed up, so. The bike is good, the team is good, it is my own hands now. The heavy hitters are still here, me, Jorge, Tim, Febvre. I need to get my starts together, if I don’t start with Jorge, if I am not top three in the start, then he is gone, and I am not catching him. I don’t have the speed of him, maybe the same speed on a good day, but I don’t have the speed to catch him and pass him. At times, some motos are good, some are not good. Yesterday I got the holeshot and I just froze. First moto was good, but the second moto I came from around 12th, and I passed everyone on the triple. I feel like the speed is coming back. I was fastest at times in Spain and in Portugal. Coming to St Jean, you can love it or hate it. I see the weather conditions don’t look too great for now, so it can go either way, be great or a lottery like in Portugal. We will see, I hope it is a good GP again.”

Another five-time World champion in HRC factory rider Tim Gajser must be the most frustrated of the three chasing Prado, because he has shown good speed and similar speed to Prado, but small mistakes have cost him dearly. Gajser won at St Jean in 2022 and also in France in 2019 and has been a constant podium man in the hard pack of France, so, don’t be surprised to see him either on the podium, even at the very top of the steps.

“Obviously, I’m pretty frustrated with how that second race ended and overall, how the weekend went. I felt I was riding much better than my results show but that is motocross and sometimes it doesn’t work out for you. My speed in that second race was really pleasing, to move all the way from around ninth, right the way up into second, setting the fastest lap and catching up to the leader. Unfortunately, I just lost the front at the crucial moment and couldn’t hold it. Still, there is a long way to go in the championship and I’m in a good position and we start going to some good tracks for me.”

The man with the most pressure in France this weekend will be Romain Febvre, but you know he will be up for the challenge. He has won the French GP in 2015 and 2016, but not since those has taken a lot of his GP wins in the sand of Lommel, Arnhem and Finland, and not on hard pack. He did win on the hard pack of Sumbawa and Loket in 2023.

“I try every weekend, like I feel I am close to putting everything together. We are battling between me, Prado, Herlings and Gajser and it is always a big fight every round. It is hard, that is how it is. We need to combine everything, starts, strategy, don’t make mistakes, be aggressive when we need to be. I am happy, four or five podiums, so I am happy with this. Yes, we have so many nice tracks in France, it has always been St Jean, Ernee, or even Villa. All three of those tracks are good, St Jean is a little bit bigger, also for the public it is better, and I will try my best. A busy week, but with the age I like more and more, before I didn’t like doing media things and try and hide somewhere, but with my age now, I like it more and more and the fans. Even here, even though it is a Spanish crowd, it is nice to see, and they are following our sport. I think even if it is muddy (In St Jean), the crowd will come.”

So, be it rain or sunshine this weekend at the legendary St Jean d’Angely circuit, these four will be pushing to get an advantage. For Prado is it more about being sensible and not losing too many points if it does rain, for the other three, it will be go for it all and hope the red plate man has another Portugal performance.

Images Ray Archer/KTM, Bavo Swijgers/HRC, Pascal Haudiquert/Kawasaki and JP/GasGas