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JORDI TIXIER
Jordi Tixier wasn’t the first choice for Team France to carry the flag in the Open class at the 2018 Motocross des Nations. The former MX2 World Champion has struggled to find the same level of success on the world stage since winning the title in 2014, making French fans wary of his potential on a foreign track in a high-pressure scenario. Romain Febvre was the team’s first choice, but the former MXGP World Champion suffered a broken rib as well as a concus- sion in a practice crash at the beginning of September, forcing him out of contention for the Motocross des Nations at RedBud. Therefore, Pascal Finot turned to Marvin Musquin to fill the spot, but the Red Bull KTM rider was already committed to taking a small vacation following the resolution of the 2018 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross season and has decided to focus his attention on getting ready for the Monster Energy Cup. Therefore, Jordi Tixier was thrown into the fire and chosen to represent Les Bleus in the hope that he could be the final piece
of the puzzle to earn the country’s sixth Chamberlain Trophy. The KTM rider didn’t set the world on fire in Michigan, but he did exactly what his team needed in order to get the job done. A miserable second moto that was plagued with crashes, goggle issues, and a mechanical failure forced France to use their dropped score and put all the pressure on his shoulders for the third and final race, but he delivered. Tixier fought his hardest after starting way down the order in 15th position and held onto the spot, playing his part in France’s outright victory.
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