5 February 2023
Tenth World Cup title for Boyd Exell: “It was 2 against 1”
The final of the World Cup in Bordeaux was very exciting. The driving was incredibly fast and in the end the balls that had been driven off were the deciding factor of who was on the top step of the podium. Boyd Exell delivered another unique performance to take home the trophy for the tenth time.
Photo: Melanie Guillamot
Just like yesterday, the drivers pushed to their limits. Koos de Ronde started second and his team was much better than yesterday. His time of 133.12 was impressive. Unfortunately, a ball rolled off in obstacle 9. With the penalty points from yesterday, the Dutchman remained sixth.
Voutaz stepped up the pressure
Unlike yesterday, the Swiss Jérôme Voutaz remained clear. With just over 131 seconds he put a lot of pressure on IJsbrand Chardon, because they both wanted to do the drive-off. “Voutaz put me under complete pressure,” admits IJsbrand. “Bram already said to me: ‘you have to go really fast now’. And I did so.” With 134.92 and a dropped ball, IJsbrand was not as fast as the Swiss, but because he only carried over 5 seconds from yesterday, he stayed ahead of Voutaz. Voutaz became fourth and he appeared to be very happy and satisfied, giving all the credit to his horses. Dries Degrieck also remained clear today, but could not stay ahead of the Swiss and eventually finished fifth.
Fastest but another ball
Bram Chardon started today with a gap of one and a half seconds on Boyd Exell. So everything was possible. In the first round he again drove incredibly fast, but at the beginning of the course he tapped a ball. Boyd then remained clear and had a lead of six seconds before entering the first marathon obstacle. He was not as fast as Bram, but held onto his lead.
Drive-off
In the drive off, one gate was taken out of each of the marathon obstacles. IJsbrand Chardon took all the risks, but caught a ball early in the course. Then it was Bram Chardon’s turn. He also tapped a ball, but again was incredibly fast. Boyd Exell knew what he had to do. He left nothing to chance and blasted through the course at top speed. In addition, he held the zero. It remained exciting until the last moment because he had to stay clear. It worked!
Photo: Melanie Guillamot
Two against one
The highest step on the podium was therefore for Exell. He stood next to the two Chardons. “It’s like two against one, he jokes. “It is a relief for me that I won. If you have fantastic horses and manage to have a good season, it’s nice if you can drive a good final too. In indoor driving you need to take a lot of risk. That risk can be rewarded, but sometimes you lose. So I really don’t expect to always win. I am very happy for my horses that it worked out.” Lead horse Jupiter was made available to him by Eric Bouwman. “He comes from the former team of Benjamin Aillaud and I have been using him all season. He is very fast and because I have very fast horses in the wheel, he fits very well in my team.” The brand new World Cup winner mainly mentions his team and permanent supporters who have made it possible to become a living legend.
Together on the podium
The Chardons of course went for the first place. “It didn’t start out so well for me,” says IJsbrand. “Because one of my horses was not in top shape, I brought a new horse from Herman ter Harmsel. The horses had to get used to each other for a while, but he did a fantastic job in the wheel. If you get to the top three in this field… and then you are on the podium with your son: that is the best thing there is. Despite the fact that we were a few steps too low on the podium.”
Own fault
Bram vult aan: “We gingen allebei met het doel om te winnen en dat is niet gelukt. Boyd was het hele seizoen al sterk. We hebben geprobeerd om hem onder druk te zetten. Mijn span heeft dit weekend bewezen dat het ’t snelste was. Ik kon gigantisch opschakelen. Maar door de fouten die ik maakte, zette ik te weinig druk op Boyd. Hij bleef 3 ronden foutloos en heeft verdiend gewonnen. Ik heb gekozen voor een ervaren voorpaard, Farao. Die heeft gebracht wat hij moest brengen. Hij was gigantisch scherp en snel en die fouten hadden niks met hem te maken. Ik maakte gewoon zelf twee inschattingsfouten en stuurde op het verkeerde moment in. Als je dan op 4 seconden van Boyd staat, is het een mooie strijd geweest. Hij heeft terecht gewonnen. Wij zijn als familie blij om samen op het podium te staan. Dat is indoor nog niet eerder gebeurd en daar moeten we vooral van genieten. Daarna gaan we kijken wat we volgend jaar beter moeten doen.”
Bram adds: “We both went with the goal of winning and we didn’t succeed. Boyd has been strong all season. We tried to put pressure on him. My team proved this weekend that it was the fastest. But because of the mistakes I made, I didn’t put enough pressure on Boyd. He remained clear for 3 rounds and deserved to win. I chose an experienced horse in the lead, Pharaoh. He did what he had to do. He was incredibly sharp and fast and those mistakes had nothing to do with him. I just made two errors of judgment myself and steered at the wrong time. Boyd rightfully won. As a family we are happy to be on the podium together. That has never happened at indoors before and we have to enjoy it. We will find out what we need to do better next year.”
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Photo: Melanie Guillamot
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