Frid’Eh Update #36 | Lars Van Berkel | Brought to You by RP Race Performance
This week, we feature an interview with Dutch rider Lars Van Berkel and it’s brought to you by RP Race Performance
By Billy Rainford
Welcome to Week #36 of the DMX Frid’Eh Update brought to you by RP Race Performance. We’re all done our MX Nationals and so are they south of the border in the AMA MX Nationals, but that doesn’t mean the action is finished for the year.
We’re heading into Round 1 of the SMX Playoffs at zMAX Raceway in North Carolina. This playoff format has injected a lot of excitement into the series as it gives the riders a chance at making some serious money on top of what they were fighting for throughout the regular season.
My calendar is filling up quickly for the latter part of 2024. This coming weekend, I’ll be teaming up with Tanner Ward for a 6-hour MTB relay race in Woodstock, ON called the Dairy Capital Stampede. Greg Poisson is also racing but his teammate is ill so it looks like he now has to race it solo! All the best, Greg. [Update: Greg was able to join in with another team so he shouldn’t be delirious late in the day on Sunday]
I’m still looking to fill the following weekend up with an event, but then we’ll be at the Corduroy Enduro up in Gooderham, Ontario, where Tyler Medaglia will try to defend his 2023 title. I’ve been trying to get up to this race for a lot of years. Jeff McConkey even gave it a shot a bunch of years ago, and that story was an adventure in itself. No, he didn’t finish.
This guy puts up some very entertaining videos covering his event. It really shows you the format, if you’re unfamiliar:
Get yer fill of Corduroy videos with this one that goes over the history of the event:
Emily is coming with me for the weekend and we’re going to make a little holiday out of it. Well, she’ll enjoy herself while I run around madly. I can’t wait!
After this event, it’ll be almost time to fly over to Matterley Basin for the 2024 MXON. I’d like to mention here that I will be selling coverage of the event and all proceeds will go directly to the Team Canada MXON effort, so if you know of anyone who might be interested, please let me know. I will be making a post about it soon.
We’ve got both 250 and 450 champions on the team as well as the fastest rider we’ve seen in Canada since the days of Ross Pederson! You heard me.
MX2 – Kaven Benoit (Canadian 250 champion)
MXGP – Jess Pettis (Canadian 450 champion)
MX3 – Dylan Wright (4-time Canadian 450 champion)
Speaking of Ross, if you can get to Parc-X-Tring in Quebec this weekend, I suggest you try to make it happen. This Vet Race will be like the event held last fall at Gopher Dunes where some of the biggest legends in our sport will make another appearance, including THE Ross Pederson.
Check out all the information on the event HERE.
From their FaceBook page:
This Saturday, the runners will have free practice: Welcome to the curious!
Sunday: Place for the races! Your idols will give you everything but a show 
Welcome all Spectators & Super Fans to Park X Tring 
Don’t miss your chance to see your motocross legends in action.
Tickets will be on sale at the door!
All the details surrounding the event can be found here 
From Bill Petro on his FaceBook page:
The Legends of Canadian Motocross will be heading out with 2 Ontario legends Glen Nicholson and Jay Kimber. A 10 hour road trip with bikes just like we used to….. Not! This time in a bigger vehicle and a trailer.
Other Ontario notables that plan to be there are Carl Bastedo and Allan Jaggard. From the Quebec side there looks to be a lot of the big names from different eras like Serge and Gaby Gregoire, Buddy Ford, Carl Vaillancourt and many more. If you are anywhere near Quebec City next weekend make your way out to Parc X Tring. But the big draw will be Ross Pederson from the west
After that, we have Round 1 of the WSX Championship series in Vancouver, BC on October 26th.
Following directly behind that, I’ll be at Glen Helen in San Bernardino, California, for the 40th annual Dubya World Vet Championships that will include the biggest number of Canadian riders the event has ever seen!
I went with the team last year and it was an amazing event and atmosphere. Ryan “Skippy” Mobbs (or “Flash” as I prefer to call him) takes the organization of this trip very seriously and leaves no stone unturned. Apparently, the beautiful house we stayed at last year has been burned by fire, so we’ll be forced to relocate for this year’s event.
We’ve got 3 very strong Vet Cup of Nations teams this year. Have a look:
Look at all those names on the left heading to California too! And more names are being added every day. If you’re looking for a great time in the sun in early November, Glen Helen might be just what you’re looking for.
After that, I’ll do another stint in Kamloops, BC to look after my mom before heading down to Florida for another Mini O’s at Gatorback. There’s a lot going on to help finish 2024 on a high note!
OK, our new friend Lars Van Berkel earned #36 for the 2024 season here in Canada. It was really cool when the Dutch sand racer showed up after Southwick to race Gopher Dunes. He landed on the podium and then headed to Sand Del Lee to finish his stay here.
He made an immediate impression with fans at both places and it looks like we came pretty close to seeing him again when Dylan Wright went out injured after the 2nd round in Alberta.
He’s a very interesting cat and Week #36 gave me a great reason to reconnect with him. His racing pedigree is up there with some of the all-time multi-sport athletes, so it was great to have a quick chance to ask him about some of that.
Here’s a look at his very brief stay in Canada from 2023:
He’s a beach racer at his core, but he’s raced a bunch of different 2-wheel disciplines. Here’s our interview with him from this week:
Direct Motocross: Hey, Lars. It was good getting to know you a little last year when you were over here in Canada. You earned #36 for the 2024 season over here, but we never got to see you run it. Looking back at your time here in Canada, first off, tell us how it all came together to get you here in the first place?
Lars Van Berkel: Well, it all came together with me and my crazy ideas of telling everyone and anyone about what I would still like to do in my career. After the 10 AMA points I got in RedBud I got mentioned in the RacerX post-race show, and I DM’ed (Steve) Matthes (PulpMX) to say thank you and if he wanted to be my title sponsor for Southwick, as he did that for a team the previous weekend. Because of that he invited me in his privateer podcast and we got to chat. We spoke about Canada, and I said I wanted to do that 1 sand race I saw on YouTube! That happened to be 6 days after I mentioned it, and he said he could got me a ride. Literally, 2 hours after the podcast was recorded, my now friend, Ryan Lockhart “The Newf” called me and asked if I wanted to ride. I said I will drive from Southwick to Gopher Dunes, but they need to supply me with a good bike and and mechanic. The rest was history.
That’s pretty amazing! How did you like it here in Canada? Anything stand out that was memorable about our country?
I just loved how fast everything went that first day, from organizing the bike a few days prior to Southwick. My friend Corey drove me in the night to Derek’s (Schuster) house, Ryan waited on the driveway in flipflops. We crashed on the couch, slept a few hours, got on the podium with 4-2 scores, and only after that really got to learn the people and take a breather! After that I became part of the family for the week, rode on Derek’s property, had some really good chats while having dinner at his house which didn’t even include only motocross. After that I drove the truck and trailer of Ryan with his whole family in it to the airport. It was just one big experience!
And how about the racing? How did it go for you while you were here? You were 3rd at Gopher Dunes and 4th at Sand Del Lee.
Racing was good. Up until that moment I didn’t have a good bike overseas yet, so stepping on the bike in Gopher with a slight hangover from racing and being tired, it boosted new energy into me. I loved it. I could really ride my style on this bike with low RPM and just on the pegs, gave me a 3rd overall in Gopher. The next week I went 3-5 in the motos with a start crash in moto 2. All I remember was that I was soo pissed I threw that double podium away, that would have been an icing on the cake as my riding was really good while being over!
How would you rank Gopher Dunes compared to other sand tracks you’ve raced MX on. No, we’re not counting your beach races here! Lol
I liked the track a lot. I would’ve loved to come back again. I was happy the track didn’t get too rough as I was already quite a bit spent after the Southwick national the day before and all the traveling, but I think it’s a really good track with good speed and 90-degree corners where you can show real sand riding. I liked it a lot more than Southwick, as that track is a lot more 180 degree and you can not really show the flow you can have in a sand track! I think Gopher is up there, specially when it gets hot!
You got your start as a BMX racer and became a champion before moving to MX. Can you tell us that story?
Well, when I was young and I started talking I could say 3 things: Mom, Dad and Moto! So I always wanted a bike, but my parents aren’t too wealthy so they put me on BMX first. I was very good in it, and when I went to my first European championship round I asked my dad If I would get a dirt bike if I could win the championship. He said say YES, and he thought he never had to give me a bike anymore. But 4 years later I became World Champion at the age of 11, and got my bike 8 weeks later. I did 1 year combination, with MX on Saturday at the amateur federation and Sundays were for BMX. At age 13 I quit BMX and went full moto and went my way up from there.
Hey, before I forget, you’re doing a bike giveaway right now that ends on Sept 16th. What’s that all about and how can people enter?
Yess, that is true! I’m currently doing a bike giveaway. I got this idea when I went over to America last year and Australia. But instead of a proper raffle, people who buy my EL ROJO T-SHIRT (El Rojo means readhead in Spanish) they will automatically get entered to win the bike. Unfortunately, with the costs of transportation I can only give the bike away within Europe. But I’ve got more prices, like a sticker kit to choose and a full Kenny Race kit. So everybody who likes my EL ROJO T-Shirt you can go over to https://larsvanberkel.com and buy a shirt. I can send the shirts worldwide, and it would be super cool to send some shirts over to Canada!
So, go over to larsvanberkel.com
– buy some cool EL ROJO t-shirt
– make a chance to win a Gearkit and Stickerkit!
My dad was British and we always watched the Weston Super Mare Beach Race. How did you get into that side of things and what is it you like about it?
Funny to say, but I never raced Weston. Weston is a bit more of an enduro. But in the Netherlands we had the Veronica Strand Race, which later became the RedBull Knockout. I used to be a EMX250 rider, but entered that race on a 450 Husqvarna. I literally only did 2x 50min motos in Lommel after my winter break. (I just emptied the gas tank) and I came 4th in the Final, first Dutch rider and a few seconds short of the podium. After that I knew beach racing came more naturally to me. Long sand races which needed a lot of fitness and mental strength!
After that I did Le Touquet one time in 2018 finished 11th after literally shitting my pants halfway into the race, 1.5 hours in! But this was it, this had to become my future! After 1 year absence I tried my butt off for this race together with my new physical trainer Joel Roelants and finished 6th, first not-full-time beach racer and privateer! I was working 40 hours still at that time and after the teams found that out in my interviews, I finally got a call from Honda France a few weeks later if I wanted to join the team! So I signed my first professional contract at the age of 25!
Enduropale du Touquet: Covering over 13km of sand in northern France, the Enduropale du Touquet is the world's biggest beach race and the original inspiration for the Dakar.
What’s the toughest one on the beach circuit and why?
The toughest ones are the ones without straights, because you cannot rest, and the bumps and traffic get ridiculous crazy! It’s literally a 2.5-hour motocross race! Le Touquet is the coolest. This one is 3 hours and has 1250 riders. I once rode it with (I later found out) covid in my body. I was dead after 1 hour, looked as white as snow, and really was dead! I talked myself through it, told myself one more lap, one more lap (laps are 15 minutes). I finished on the podium but collapsed after the finish. I literally couldn’t see colours anymore for 10 minutes, but made my first Touquet podium! I laid sick on the couch for 2 weeks, but I made it, my first podium!
Yikes! What’s been your best MXGP finish?
I finished 4th at the first moto in the MX2 in Assen, overall I finished 8th as a wildcard rider. But the next day I had to go back to work as I still worked a full-time job!
Who was your MX hero when you were a kid?
At first in my younger years it used to be Stefan Everts. After that I really looked up to and still do to Gautier Paulin. His style on and off the bike and the fact that he is also BMX World Champion made me a fan, and gives me inspiration every day!
And what’s your favourite band or singer?
I’m a big fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It’s just really cool music!
What is the Elfstedentocht?
Good question! It’s a really big lap in the North of the Netherlands. Literally translated “the eleven city tour.” These are the 11 cities in the North of the Netherlands which are connected through canals. Every time the ice is thick enough they do the biggest ice skating lap in the world here, 240km on ice skates! This might be even more special than the Olympics here. It’s only held when the ice is big enough, the latest one used to be in 1997. And only 15 have been held in the last 113 years! So it’s part of our culture! But me and my cousin cycle a lot and talked about doing this lap by bike (on the roads next to the channel). So we decided on Monday to do this lap and did it on Friday, 240km with 33.5km/h average, a really cool experience we had to do!
What did you do this summer?
I went racing for the Factory Honda team in Australia! I did 3 races and was even in talks with GDR Honda to do a few races in Canada, but that fell through. So I picked some cool races to do and took a bit of off time, doing some down-hilling, road cycling, sports and stuff and worked on my bike raffle / merch idea!
What’s next for you?
Beach racing has started! So next is a lot of training laps in the sand, and working out, working to my goal of winning Le Touquet!
What else do you do for fun?
I like cycling and down-hilling a lot. I also i like the business side of life, so always I think about ideas to work on my future and use my social media and network as a platform to create opportunities and cool things! Like for Argentina and Australia this year I made custom “national inspired” race gear with Kenny! I had a lot of cool ideas already for if I was gonna come over to Canada, but that fell through! But who knows is 2025!
Will we see you hanging out at the MXON at Matterley Basin in October?
No, I will be training on the beach for my beach season that will start like 2 weeks after that event.
OK, thanks for taking some time with us this week. Good luck with everything and is there anyone you’d like to thank?
I want to thank everybody that has been a part in my journey so far, from teams to people. But also the fans that something remind me of how cool my journey has been so far, and that the amount of international trips I do and how I do it, that these are special. I like to live in the moment a lot, so I don’t think about this stuff too much while I’m doing it, but when I look back, I already think my career is quite special, not typical, but really cool! I want to do more of this cool stuff!
Thanks for this interview!
I think I talked about all the stuff I needed to off the start in this one. I need to go get off my legs to be ready for this big either team race or solo race on Sunday. 🤣 Have a great weekend. I don’t know about where. you live, but if you live in a University city like I do here in London, Ontario, the traffic has instantly gone through the roof and driving around is even worse than usual right now. Go Mustangs!
As I said earlier, our main series may be finished but that doesn’t mean we’re going to be any less busy! As always, see you at the races…
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