3 November 2024
Dries Degrieck convincing winner in Lyon
This afternoon, the first World Cup points of the 2024-2025 season were distributed in Lyon. Yesterday, Dries Degrieck already drove two super good and clear rounds. Today, a ball fell on gate three already in the first round, so he knew he had to speed up to qualify for the drive-off.“Yes, there were a few tricky spots in the course. It was definitely not easy! Very nice to be able to drive like I did, despite having a few younger horses in my team”, Dries Degrieck tells afterwards. By this he is referring to eight-year-old Leon (by Atleet) and nine-year-old Kane B (by Delviro). “But I think it is especially important to keep watching the other drivers, to keep learning from them.”
IJsbrand Chardon was driving well in the first round until a ball fell on gate ten. Then he got into trouble in obstacle eleven, causing an element to fall over. He then slowed down and drove calmly to gates twelve and thirteen and then to the finish.
Second place for Benjamin Aillaud
Wild Card competitor Benjamin Aillaud (FRA) also drove a very good competition this weekend. Despite his result not counting for World Cup points, he qualified as third driver for the drive-off. With a super fast time of 148.23 and one dropped ball, he finished in second place in the overall standings. Jérome Voutaz (SUI) drove a fast time in the drive-off but for him two balls fell in the second half of the course. A pity, as this put him behind Benjamin Aillaud. Because Benjamin participated with a Wild Card, Jérôme knew he could still take the World Cup points for second place.
Everything possible
Due to the eight extra penalty points that Jérôme Voutaz got, there seemed to be some space for Dries Degrieck. Although everybody was aware that everything was still possible after a ball fell for Dries on gate three in the first round. This time, Dries managed to leave all balls on top. The carriage seemed briefly off balance when Dries made the turn at full speed in gate eight, but the horses remained eager and listened to the aids. As a result, Dries drove the fastest time of the weekend and stayed clear, phenomenal! By the way, the times can be easily compared, as yesterday and today were exactly the same course for the first round and the drive-off.
“It is the third time I’ve driven here in Lyon”, Dries explains afterwards. “I like coming here, the competition is super and so is the audience. We now have some time to recover and in three weeks we will drive the World Cup competition in Stockholm, Sweden!’
Click here for the overview of how the World Cup points are now distributed
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