Cyril Genot, 2026-2027 FIM Sand Races World Championship, Morocco Sand Race © Frederik Herregods Photography
Despite sitting third in the Moto class points standings after the opening two rounds of the 2026 FIM Sand Races World Championship, Cyril Genot – Honda knows he is on the back foot heading into the Ronde de Sables Loon Plage starting on Saturday and needs a good result if he is to begin to claw back the nineteen-point deficit to series leader Håkon Fredriksen – Yamaha Monster Drag’on Tek.
The twenty-seven-year-old from Riemst in Belgium was the overall winner of round two – Italy’s Bibione Sand Storm – last month, but a DNF in the second race at round one in Morocco at the end of September when his rear tyre came off the rim was a serious blow to his championship hopes.
“With one retirement it’s obviously becoming very difficult in the championship,” he said. “That’s a real shame, but in this sport things can change very quickly and there are still three rounds to go. As long as it’s not all over, you never know. So I’m going to keep fighting right to the end. Without that retirement, I’d logically be leading the championship today.”
Marking the halfway point of the five-round series, Ronde de Sables Loon Plage will be contested over a single two-and-a-half-hour race instead of the two-race format – over shorter durations – used in Morocco and Italy and that suits Genot.
“I prefer longer races. They’re much more physically demanding and that’s precisely the sort of challenge that suits me well. In a race lasting an hour-and-a-half it’s often harder to make a difference, although physical fitness and stamina can play an important role. These are conditions in which I generally feel very comfortable.”
The son of a talented amateur rider, Genot started out racing Motocross and made his debut in the FIM Motocross World Championship in 2019 in the MX2 class. He only contested selected rounds across a brief career in the sport’s top-flight that saw him move into MXGP in 2021, the same season he helped his country to sixth at the FIM Motocross of Nations, but from his results one thing is crystal-clear – he excels in sand.
“Yes, sand has always been my favourite surface. When I was younger, we used to go to the Netherlands very often to take part in races, particularly because I was still too young for certain competitions in Belgium. Over there, the tracks are very often sandy. That’s certainly why I’ve always felt very much at home on sand, like a fish in water. It’s a surface that naturally suits my riding style.”
Winner of an EMX125 round at Lommel in 2015, he recorded his best GP finishes at the infamous Belgian sand track between 2019 and 2022 and has carried across his highly specialised skills to his new choice of discipline, quickly establishing himself as a podium contender with a second at the Enduropale du Touquet Pas-de-Calais to end the Sand Races series’ inaugural 2023 season on a high.
Choosing not to contest the 2024 series, he was sixth in 2025 with two no-scores restricting his overall finish after taking third in Argentina and winning the final round in Portugal.
“My current form doesn’t really surprise me. I’ve been regularly battling for victory for several years now. However, I’m very pleased with my riding standard and the feel I currently have on the bike. Winning the title would be a great reward for all the hard work put in. There are still plenty of possibilities, so we’ll keep fighting and hope that things might still go our way.”
The points-scoring action from the Ronde de Sables Loon Plage gets under way with the two-hour Quad race tomorrow with Moto Vintage taking to the sand on Sunday followed by Moto Junior before the main Moto race starts.
