Photos from Final Day of Practice for 2023 Team Canada MXON

By Billy Rainford

It was one last chance to shake things down on Thursday for Team Canada MXON at a private track called Moto-Club Homelais d’Ossé about 40 minutes from our humble chateux here in France. It looked like a fun track but it was bone dry and the riders had to feel their way around the powdery surface. Having said that, all 3 riders put in some final efforts before it really counts on Saturday for qualifying at the MXON in Ernée.

Here are a few shots from Thursday.

Some final words between rider and mechanic aas Dylan Wright got set to head out and check out the new track.
Justin Roney making sure Ryder McNabb’s 250 is ready before our MX2 entry hit the track.
Nico gaining a little altitude advantage.
Jess Pettis has been battling a bit of a bug, but will be good to go on the weekend.
You’ve always got to be ready to catch Ryder doing something.
Brayden Kalte is here and settled in. Let’s see what our multi-time champion can do this weekend in the MXGP class.
It was only 8-10 degrees Celsius when the guys hit the track for their first session. The forecast for the weekend is…PERFECT!
Jess Pettis in the powdery dirt.
Ryder moving some soil.
A few locals heard the bikes and came over to check things out. I did my best to talk to them but it was no problem for Dylan.
I like shots that tell you it’s definitely not from a track we know.
Then it was back to the “house” for some team photos.
Riders, mechanics, team manager.
Rapunzel, Rapunzel…
The work that Kourtney put in to get this specially made personalized Calgary Stampede MXON hat for Ryder is extremely impressive. She snuck it here in an actual hat case!
Matt Deroy made it here and gave a nice speech thanking Kourtney for all her work before we ate diner.
This will forever be a great shot. What a scene!
We tried several angles.
Ryder nearly gave Kourtney a heart attack when he jumped off the wall. So Jess had to do it too. Haha
And that was it for the day. Dutchy showed up this evening after a long drive from Holland. Tomorrow we actually go to the track to get our credentials, draw gates, walk the track, and do the Nations parade. Hey James, go ahead and say it – “See you at the races…“