Is J Cooper a MXoN Chance?

mattdavison
Hi All

Maybe its been discussed but after his performance this weekend, is he and should he be a chance for the vacant 250 spot?
I know his season hasn't been amazing and one good weekend doesn't necessarily mean hes 'back' but hes been on the 250 all year, currently riding well and fast and maybe the best the US have got as a full time 250 guy.
Keep in mind I'm not the biggest Cooper fan but I have to respect what he can do on a bike.
Yes I'm aware that Barcia and Craig are regarded as the best two chances but Barcia was off this weekend and my thoughts are that if you have a fast 250 guy, you use the fast 250 guy.

Matt
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LouisianaMotocross 7/24/2022 4:09pm
7/24/2022 4:09pm
No. They shouldn’t make a decision based off one moto anyway.
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olderandYZer
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olderandYZer 7/24/2022 4:10pm
7/24/2022 4:10pm
He should be on the team. Plain and simple
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J. Sloan
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J. Sloan 7/24/2022 4:12pm
7/24/2022 4:12pm
Cooper deserves the spot. Downvote if you agree.
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kevin204
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kevin204 7/24/2022 4:16pm
7/24/2022 4:16pm
Since he hasn’t been talked about as an option, I’ve just been assuming that he couldn’t go for contractual reasons or he needed surgery after the season. Apparently that’s not true, in which case, it seems obvious he should be the choice. He’s the best American 250 rider at this point. Why overthink it? Tomac, Cooper, Sexton. Easy.
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mattdavison 7/24/2022 4:20pm
7/24/2022 4:20pm
kevin204 wrote:
Since he hasn’t been talked about as an option, I’ve just been assuming that he couldn’t go for contractual reasons or he needed surgery after the...
Since he hasn’t been talked about as an option, I’ve just been assuming that he couldn’t go for contractual reasons or he needed surgery after the season. Apparently that’s not true, in which case, it seems obvious he should be the choice. He’s the best American 250 rider at this point. Why overthink it? Tomac, Cooper, Sexton. Easy.
I thought the same thing regarding his contract but then figured that Craig is leaving at the end of the year but still getting talked about so i'm not really sure!

Matt
Zycki11
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Zycki11 7/24/2022 4:28pm
7/24/2022 4:28pm
olderandYZer wrote:
He should be on the team. Plain and simple
For what reason? One moto victory is not a sign he should be on the team. His performance last year? Absolutely
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8tensolutions
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8tensolutions 7/24/2022 4:29pm
7/24/2022 4:29pm
They need to take the best three riders in the US regardless what bike they are on. With Anderson not in the picture, would you put Cooper next? I wouldn't. He has also shown an inability to move through traffic which will for sure be required on a 250 at MXDN on a loamy track. Cooper is great when things go his way, but when they don't he is a train wreck. We need someone that will fight and have pride in being the best representing the sport in the US.
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mxxxeR1
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mxxxeR1 7/24/2022 4:31pm
7/24/2022 4:31pm
The only rider who might be better than cooper in mx2 is chase sexton....
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Keith72
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Keith72 7/24/2022 4:57pm
7/24/2022 4:57pm
J. Sloan wrote:
Cooper deserves the spot. Downvote if you agree.
😂
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crowe660
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crowe660 7/24/2022 5:10pm
7/24/2022 5:10pm Edited Date/Time 7/24/2022 5:11pm
No brainer. His starts will be invaluable and he’s a gamer. Who’s going to compete him beside one of the Jett brothers? There’s maybe 3 MXGP guys? He’ll get a start, and worst case finish top 5. That will be all we need unless we get another weekend of bad weather and they sneak a dozen trucks of sand in.
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mb60
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mb60 7/24/2022 5:19pm
7/24/2022 5:19pm
When he starts up front he rides like that. Buried in the pack he can't move forward. Too bad because his 2nd moto was awesome.
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Magoofan
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Magoofan 7/24/2022 5:25pm
7/24/2022 5:25pm
Been rooting for Justin Cooper to get back to race pace and start giving the Lawrence boys some grief. ....but this was one good race. Not enough to put him on the team.
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motomike137
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motomike137 7/24/2022 5:28pm
7/24/2022 5:28pm
The whole inability to move through traffic excuse to not pick him assumes that Craig or Barcia will be able to do so on a 250 against half a field of 450's. J Coop is a hell of a starter as well. If he gets one great start and holds position he will have done the job. Also this nonsense about not picking him after one good race is laughable as well. One good race? He did what we expect out of him and appears to be back on form. He holeshot and led flag to flag in that second moto, it wasn't a fluke. I think at this point we will be shooting ourselves in the foot if we don't send him.
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Press516
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Press516 7/24/2022 5:32pm
7/24/2022 5:32pm
mb60 wrote:
When he starts up front he rides like that. Buried in the pack he can't move forward. Too bad because his 2nd moto was awesome.
This is the concern with choosing Justin. He simply doesn't pass as well as other choices like Craig and certainly Anderson... And even Barcia tends to pass better.

But his starts are almost always good and he probably just needs one of the 2 moto's. He can get out of the first corner in the top 10 and that would likely be all it takes. Vialle will too... That just means Sexton/Tomac need to beat Renaux/Febvre and you win. (not an easy task by the way)

I feel like he inserted himself in the conversation with that moto win... Was it enough? We'll find out in a couple weeks. Wink
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Original 44
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Original 44 7/24/2022 5:51pm
7/24/2022 5:51pm
I think Justin Cooper would be a great pick.

Justin has always been a great starter. Yes, he’s gonna have to go against 450’s, but so is every other 250 rider. All he has to do is be the first 250 through the first turn. I think he’ll do exceptionally well on Saturday during qualify. That in itself will help the US get a good gate pick for Sunday.
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Sully
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Sully 7/24/2022 6:35pm
7/24/2022 6:35pm
Magoofan wrote:
Been rooting for Justin Cooper to get back to race pace and start giving the Lawrence boys some grief. ....but this was one good race. Not...
Been rooting for Justin Cooper to get back to race pace and start giving the Lawrence boys some grief. ....but this was one good race. Not enough to put him on the team.
So you'd rather have the 5th or 7th place 450 guy move down instead of the 4th place 250 guy? And Cooper has more points than Craig and Barcia, too.
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fullfloater 7/24/2022 6:42pm
7/24/2022 6:42pm
Hopefully they will pick after Unadilla and someone will shine by then. Seems a difficult pick at the moment with all three having +/-
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wrc777
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wrc777 7/24/2022 6:42pm
7/24/2022 6:42pm
He got beat by four other US riders at Redbud this year (including a privateer with a stock engine) not to mention the Far East contingency. The race in question is at redbud. Barcia got third overall this year on that track in 450. If mxdn was at Washougal you might have an argument. Cooper also doesn’t do as well if he doesn’t holeshot which he is very unlikely to do against the worlds best 450 riders. Apparently he is still not back to 100% after the injury in supercross either.
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DKmxFAN
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DKmxFAN 7/24/2022 6:50pm
7/24/2022 6:50pm
Magoofan wrote:
Been rooting for Justin Cooper to get back to race pace and start giving the Lawrence boys some grief. ....but this was one good race. Not...
Been rooting for Justin Cooper to get back to race pace and start giving the Lawrence boys some grief. ....but this was one good race. Not enough to put him on the team.
Sully wrote:
So you'd rather have the 5th or 7th place 450 guy move down instead of the 4th place 250 guy? And Cooper has more points than...
So you'd rather have the 5th or 7th place 450 guy move down instead of the 4th place 250 guy? And Cooper has more points than Craig and Barcia, too.
I’d bet a lot of money barcia beats cooper in a 30 min moto on 250s
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Sawfish
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Sawfish 7/24/2022 6:56pm
7/24/2022 6:56pm
I would say yes if he were riding consistently with Lawrence bros. Hope to see Barcia revving the piss out of a 250f again.
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Chris_Buehler
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Chris_Buehler 7/24/2022 6:57pm
7/24/2022 6:57pm
Magoofan wrote:
Been rooting for Justin Cooper to get back to race pace and start giving the Lawrence boys some grief. ....but this was one good race. Not...
Been rooting for Justin Cooper to get back to race pace and start giving the Lawrence boys some grief. ....but this was one good race. Not enough to put him on the team.
Sully wrote:
So you'd rather have the 5th or 7th place 450 guy move down instead of the 4th place 250 guy? And Cooper has more points than...
So you'd rather have the 5th or 7th place 450 guy move down instead of the 4th place 250 guy? And Cooper has more points than Craig and Barcia, too.
DKmxFAN wrote:
I’d bet a lot of money barcia beats cooper in a 30 min moto on 250s
I would take that bet
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yak651
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yak651 7/24/2022 7:13pm
7/24/2022 7:13pm
Let’s see what he does at Unadilla. One good moto on a track that doesn’t get rough, doesn’t reward raw speed, and is hard to pass on isn’t a good gage, IMO
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Sully
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Sully 7/24/2022 7:50pm
7/24/2022 7:50pm
Magoofan wrote:
Been rooting for Justin Cooper to get back to race pace and start giving the Lawrence boys some grief. ....but this was one good race. Not...
Been rooting for Justin Cooper to get back to race pace and start giving the Lawrence boys some grief. ....but this was one good race. Not enough to put him on the team.
Sully wrote:
So you'd rather have the 5th or 7th place 450 guy move down instead of the 4th place 250 guy? And Cooper has more points than...
So you'd rather have the 5th or 7th place 450 guy move down instead of the 4th place 250 guy? And Cooper has more points than Craig and Barcia, too.
DKmxFAN wrote:
I’d bet a lot of money barcia beats cooper in a 30 min moto on 250s
I think you'd be losing a lot of money on that bet.
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KurtJ99
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KurtJ99 7/24/2022 8:24pm
7/24/2022 8:24pm
Clearly no, until that last moto at Washougal. Before Unadilla, the choice will be made so I am pretty sure it won't be him. A shame I would prefer to see a younger 250 rider than a veteran grab the spot, but he hasn't had enough good motos.
He is usually a great starter so you balance that against a faster rider (Eli!) that will ride through the pack but likely get a worse start on a bike he unfamiliar with and he would be heavier than most for that class.
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AH387
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AH387 7/24/2022 8:41pm
7/24/2022 8:41pm
To me, Cooper was always the ideal choice. But he hadn't looked himself. The last 2 weeks, he's really come around. I'd be happy with him on the team because I think he's really close to form..by the time the race comes around he will be 100%, I would think.
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bd
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bd 7/24/2022 8:44pm
7/24/2022 8:44pm
mattdavison wrote:
Hi All Maybe its been discussed but after his performance this weekend, is he and should he be a chance for the vacant 250 spot? I...
Hi All

Maybe its been discussed but after his performance this weekend, is he and should he be a chance for the vacant 250 spot?
I know his season hasn't been amazing and one good weekend doesn't necessarily mean hes 'back' but hes been on the 250 all year, currently riding well and fast and maybe the best the US have got as a full time 250 guy.
Keep in mind I'm not the biggest Cooper fan but I have to respect what he can do on a bike.
Yes I'm aware that Barcia and Craig are regarded as the best two chances but Barcia was off this weekend and my thoughts are that if you have a fast 250 guy, you use the fast 250 guy.

Matt
FUCK NO! He always runs well in WA and until moto 2, he’s been getting smoked. You pick Craig and maybe, maybe have Cooper as an alternate.
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bd
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bd 7/24/2022 8:47pm
7/24/2022 8:47pm
Quick question… has Cooper passed a pack of riders this year? Has Craig?
fullfloater 7/24/2022 9:25pm
7/24/2022 9:25pm Edited Date/Time 7/24/2022 9:30pm
bd wrote:
Quick question… has Cooper passed a pack of riders this year? Has Craig?
I had Craig on my pulp team this weekend. He was pretty far back in both motos (18th, 12th) and worked up well to go 6-5. I still can't believe he got 50 points in pulp.

I think the point with Cooper is that he's improving and might be quite a bit better by Unadilla and MXdN. RedBud was three weeks ago. Let's see how he looks at Unadilla as it will be 6 weeks from RedBud. The list Americans who have beat both of the Lawrence bros at a national this year is pretty short (Mosiman, Kitchen, Cooper) and it's clearly a feat this year.
soresammy
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soresammy 7/24/2022 9:49pm
7/24/2022 9:49pm
J. Sloan wrote:
Cooper deserves the spot. Downvote if you agree.
Lol
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AH387
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AH387 7/24/2022 9:49pm
7/24/2022 9:49pm Edited Date/Time 7/24/2022 9:50pm
fullfloater wrote:
I had Craig on my pulp team this weekend. He was pretty far back in both motos (18th, 12th) and worked up well to go 6-5...
I had Craig on my pulp team this weekend. He was pretty far back in both motos (18th, 12th) and worked up well to go 6-5. I still can't believe he got 50 points in pulp.

I think the point with Cooper is that he's improving and might be quite a bit better by Unadilla and MXdN. RedBud was three weeks ago. Let's see how he looks at Unadilla as it will be 6 weeks from RedBud. The list Americans who have beat both of the Lawrence bros at a national this year is pretty short (Mosiman, Kitchen, Cooper) and it's clearly a feat this year.
I agree. Ideally a current 250 guy would be what I would want. But for most of the year I just didn't see enough from JCoop to consider over Craig/Barcia. But now that he's starting to show glimpse of his old self, he's back on my radar. It just sucks that they will probably already choose the team before Unadilla, so we pretty much saw all the action that will be used to select the riders. But Cooper is certainly trending in the right direction, which is awesome. Might be a long shot that he gets chosen but I think he's worth considering at this point.
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