Bron: MXlarge.com
By: Geoff Meyer

News has already hit the steets in Holland. Marc De
Reuver and Erik Eggens have done the impossible and
clinched the first ever Dutch Grand Prix double
victory by home riders. Never in the sports history
have two dutch riders been able to clinch wins in the
MX1 and MX2 class on the same day.


Going back to that amazing day, Sunday April 6, 2008.
It is 7am in the morning and already the traffic is
filtering into the circuit. The A50 freeway heading
south to Eindhoven has been closed due to traffic
waiting to get into the Valkenswaard circuit.

Brought into the facilty by helicopter is De Reuver
the best known dutch motocross of the last ten years.
Having just signed a contract to do his own "Real
Life" show De Reuver can't be seen in public anymore.
His life has changed, but on this day he will get back
to work, the job of being a professional motocross
racer.

By the time Eggens arrives at the circuit the whole
Valkenswaard facility is full of dutch flags and air
horns are blasting in the cold spring morning. Eggens
who is the quiet and more serious of the two dutch
riders knows that today is his chance to catch time in
a bottle and win another Grand Prix, some seven years
after his first GP victory.

The whole day is like a dream. Eggens leads the
opening MX2 moto from the start. Cairoli, Searle,
Rattray and Aubin in a small group behind him. The
circuit has rutted up well due to a lot of rain on the
Saturday and Eggens is finding some great lines. That
feeling of riding at the front of the pack is
something the former CHAMP KTM rider hasn't felt in
years, but here it is again. Consistent lap times, his
body not failing him.

By the end of the first moto the Suzuki mounted rider
is 40 seconds ahead of Cairoli, with Rattray a further
10 seconds back. Until now the dutch supporters are
enoying this weekend.

The opening MX1 moto is a war. De Reuver goes down in
the first corner and struggles to his feet in last
place. He kicks the motor over and begins what will be
the most amazing comeback in Grand Prix history.
Fighting through the pack De Reuver is up to 10th
place mid-race. Up front Coppins, Ramon and Strijbos
are fighting for the lead, but from the screams of the
crowd they know that De Reuver is coming.

Lap 17 and the top three are still in a torrid war for
victory, but De Reuver has now placed his Martin Honda
machine in fourth place and is hunting like a wild
animal. Two laps to go and De Reuver passes Strijbos
and Ramon in a deep rutted section. The two Belgian
know how to ride the sand, but today it is the sandman
who is in control.

Coppins looks nervously over his shoulder, he knows
his former Rinaldi Yamaha team-mate is on a mission
and he knows that he has "nothing for De Reuver in the
sand". With two corners to go De Reuver takes the
lead, Coppins tried to fight back, but he has nothing
left. The race is over, De Reuver is the winner.

As the second MX2 moto begins all eyes are on Eggens,
nobody expects him to pull another run away win and in
seventh place in the first lap it looks like his dream
is as good as over.

Cairoli and the three KTM riders Searle, Rattray and
Goncalves fight for the lead. Shaun Simpson and Jeremy
VanHoreBeek sit in fourth and fifth and Cairoli can
feel the pressure from the orange bikes. Eggens moves
alongside Simpson and VanHoreBeek and moves into fifth
place.

The moto goes on and still Cairoli leads, but Eggens
is now tucked in behind Searle, with Rattray and
Goncalves behind. Five laps from the end Eggens pushes
Searle wide and moves into second. Cairoli now has a
10 second lead and looks assured of the GP victory.

Eggens though doesn't give up. The 50,000 dutch
spectators are on their feet as Cairoli drops his bike
in a corner. He is up quickly, but Eggens is onto him.
One lap to go and the two enter the back section of
the circuit.

Cairoli ducks to the inside of a corner and Eggens
goes wide. Through the wave section they touch and
Cairoli goes down again, Eggens also crashes, smashing
into the fence, his bike tangled in the green mesh
around the track. Both have opened up a big lead over
Searle and Rattray and have time to get their bikes
free.

Eggens is first going with Cairoli on his tail. The
crowd have now broken down the fencing and are on the
track. Eggens can feel another Grand Prix victory and
the usually quiet dutch crowd are trying to make life
difficult for Cairoli.

Eggens wins and takes the GP overall. He is swamped by
spectators and carried to the starting area of the
MX1. De Reuver now looks amazingly relaxed smiles at
Eggens and returns to the waiting zone.

Hells Bells the music from ACDC begins the last moto
of the day and De Reuver knows that this is his
chance.

The queen of Holland has arrived and is sitting in the
VIP area, already too excited to sit the queen goes to
the fence and looks for eye contact with De Reuver,
but today De Reuver has no eyes for the ladies, today
he is looking only at his competition.

He will get his chance to return to Den Haag and visit
the Queen, because today De Reuver will be the man, he
has plans for the lawn of the Queen.

The moto is simple for the Netherlander, victory comes
easy, so easy in fact that already people are looking
at him to fight for the World MX1 title, victory in
the series would mean legendary status in the once
motocross crazy country.

As the dutch national anthem is played (Wilhelmus) De
Reuver and Eggens wait behind the Grand Prix podium.
One of the greatest days in Dutch Motocross history
has been played out.

Slowly the crowd leave the circuit, the sky opens up
and heavy rain drenches the Valkenswaard circuit and
another weekend of motocross is over.

Monday morning around 6am I awake, my weekend in
Valkenswaard seems a little vague, was it reality, or
was it a dream.