Jeffrey Herlings will almost certainly make his comeback in the GP of Finland next weekend. The motocross racer from Oploo will start training again on Monday after crashing six weeks ago during the Grand Prix of Germany and breaking a cervical vertebra. An accident that has made him think: “I’m looking forward to my retirement more and more.”
He will have a final check-up at the hospital next Monday, but Jeffrey Herlings assumes the green light from his doctors. Only six weeks after the fracture of a cervical vertebra, he is back on his dirt bike, because the driver immediately starts training.
“It’s a scary injury,” says Herlings, “but if you break your knee or elbow as a motocross racer, it’s even worse. It may not be advisable to start motocross right away, but the doctor says it’s possible because the fracture has healed.”
“Falls are part of the sport and it is sometimes life-threatening, because it is not checkers.”
At Herlings, everything always seems to go a little faster anyway. “There is a chance that I will go to the GP in Finland next weekend, because I have to train anyway. And by the time we have to go to Sweden I will be on the bike for three weeks and I hope to be in the top five. After that comes the GP in Arnhem, on the sand, and then hopefully I will be racing for the win again.”
That’s how we know the motocross rider from Oploo again, because Herlings is a real mourner and above all a sportsman and winner. However, the crash was not due to reckless behavior. “I haven’t done any crazy things all season and falls are part of the sport, which is sometimes life-threatening, because it’s not checkers.”
However, his environment sometimes sends signals, but he has been ignoring them for a while. “I think my father and mother would like me to stop yesterday rather than today. But they also thought that ten years ago. But if something has to be done, it will come. That’s how I stand.”
“I do notice that my body has had the best time.”
Unfortunately, the fall has removed the biggest challenge this season for the five-time world champion. “The world title is of course gone”, Herlings also knows. “And only the first place counts. I had the physical pain in Germany, but it also hurts mentally.”
The sporty hunger of the Brabander has not yet been satisfied, but performing is costing him a bit more money these days. “Winning is in me and I just like the game too much,” he says. “But I notice that my body has had its best time. All those smacks don’t make it any better. I can still reach the top, but the performance will eventually go down rather than up.”
“I’m going to go cross country in the coming time and then I’ll see how far I get.”
“I’m looking forward to my retirement more and more every year,” he continues honestly. “When I’ve hit my face hard and have a lot of pain, I sometimes think about stopping. But when I’m healed again, I like it too much and I keep going.”
“I still have a two-year contract and maybe I’ll stick to it for another year,” concludes Herlings. “But that’s really the maximum. I’m just going to go cross country in the coming time and then I’ll see how far I get.”
