21 January 2024
Leipzig 2024: Dries Degrieck to a well-deserved victory
The competition was a real nail-biter today in Leipzig, where the last World Cup points were distributed before the World Cup Final in Bordeaux at the beginning of February. Dries Degrieck earned the full number of points.Bram Chardon finished second, followed by Wild Card participant Koos de Ronde in third place. Wild Card participant Boyd Exell finished fourth. Mareike Harm, Koos de Ronde and Boyd Exell drove with a Wild Card this weekend. This means that they could not earn World Cup points.
Mareike Harm and Georg von Stein ended this afternoon with less than 0.20 penalty points difference from each other due to Mareike’s dropped ball. Although fellow countryman Michael Brauchle was almost ten seconds faster, he could not match them due to his three dropped balls.
After the Germans took the lead, it was Bram Chardon’s turn. After things didn’t go well for him on Friday evening, he drove a super faultless lap today with a time of 162.17 seconds. His result was more than twelve penalty points better than Mareike Harm, who had been at the top until that moment.
Bram Chardon
Subsequently, Koos de Ronde also managed to stay clear. At the halfway point he was about one second faster than Bram, but he lost his lead in the second half of the course. With his time of 165.16 he took second place, behind Bram Chardon. IJsbrand Chardon, Dries Degrieck and Boyd Exell were next. Therefore it was still exciting whether Koos would qualify for the Drive-off.
IJsbrand Chardon got off to a quick start today. During the split time he was two seconds faster than Bram Chardon, who ultimately managed to set the fastest time in the first round. Unfortunately, IJsbrand ran into a small problem in obstacle five, when he wanted to finish the obstacle after the F. Later, a ball also fell for him in obstacle nine, meaning he finished below Koos de Ronde’s result.
Dries Degrieck had his horses in great shape today, they transitioned wonderfully on the long lines and continued to gallop forward in the obstacles. With his clear round and time of 164.70, he places himself between Bram and Koos.
The sometimes unbeatable-looking Boyd Exell did not have his day today. Fortunately, because he was driving with a Wild Card, there was nothing at stake for him. With his time of 162.20 he was 0.03 seconds slower than Bram, but due to the dropped ball in obstacle five he moved to fourth place. He therefore did not start in the Drive-off.
Bram Chardon in Leipzig
Photo: DigiShots
Dries Degrieck wins
In the Drive-off, a ball fell for Koos de Ronde in obstacle five. That earned him four penalty points, after which he decided to go inside after gate twelve to gate thirteen. Unfortunately, he hit gate four that had already been driven, resulting in four additional penalty points. The total score: 175.58 penalty points. “The level was incredibly high here in Leipzig,” he said afterwards. “The crowd in Leipzig was fantastic and the course was tough. Before the start I spoke to IJsbrand Chardon and he said: ‘If you drive very well here, you can still finish fourth or fifth’. That is exactly what happened.”
Then it was Dries Degrieck’s turn. He decided to take another line again when entering obstacle five. His horses were alert, fast and eager. A nice image to look at. With his clear lap and time of 161.14, he was one second faster than Bram in the first round. So the pressure was high!
Bram Chardon got off to a quick start. World Cup points were at stake for both him and Dries. After a particularly short turn in obstacle five from B to C., unfortunately a ball fell. He therefore decided to go inside from gate twelve to thirteen, just like Koos did. No ball fell for Bram, but with his time of 161.97 and the dropped ball he could not match the result of Dries.
Dries Degrieck won today in Leipzig and thus managed to achieve the maximum number of World Cup points. It is his first World Cup victory this season and with this victory he has assured himself of a spot in the final in Bordeaux at the beginning of February. “I still can’t believe it,” Degrieck said afterwards. “I think everyone went for the win today in the Driveoff, we were super close together. This is incredible.”
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Dries Degrieck wins Leipzig
Photo: DigiShots
Participants World Cup Final Bordeaux
The participants of the World Cup Final in Bordeaux have now been announced. Theseare:
Boyd Exell
Bram Chardon
IJsbrand Chardon
Michael Brauchle
Dries Degrieck
Koos de Ronde
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