Jeffrey Herlings names best MX rider in the world: 'Jett Lawrence? Eli Tomac? Nobody would beat him.'

Largely considered one of the best riders in the modern era, Jeffrey Herlings has given his own opinion following his defeat at the MXGP of Sardinia to Belgium's young sensation Lucas Coenen.

Speaking to MXVice after the race, Herlings tipped the 19 year old as the current best rider in the world, stating that even the likes of Jett Lawrence and Eli Tomac would struggle against him.

"To be honest I wish that he [Lucas Coenen] would actually go to Southwick [Massechusetts] and see where he's at. Like I said, I'm a huge Jett Lawrence fan, don't get me wrong, but I know what pace I had to run with Eli Tomac, I raced him multiple times. I know the speed I had to run with Antonio Cairoli in his good days. I knew what pace I had to do, but I've never had to be as fast as I am now with Lucas on the sand."

"Because it's not often I get beaten in the sand in my career, but already in Arnhem I was lucky, to be honest I was lucky he crashed because otherwise I wouldn't have won."

"The third place gap was around a minute behind so I think right now there wouldn't have been anyone on the planet who would've beaten him at this track this weekend. It's maybe big words but like I said, I've been doing this for 17 years now at the top level. I've won myself the GP with over two minutes in front, so I know what I'm talking about."

Herlings, currently 2nd in the championship standings, trails Coenen by fourteen points after three rounds, but the remarkable race between the pair was clearly a one-on-one duel with no other contenders anywhere in sight.

The longstanding rivalry between Herlings and America's Eli Tomac is one of the most captivating in recent Motorcross history, and with the Dutch legend throwing shade towards Australia's Jett Lawrence too, who currently competes in the AMA Supercross championships, the rivalry could be set to heat up once again.