29 October 2022

Lyon 2022: Brilliant start to the World Cup season

This morning the Four-in-Hand drivers started as the first class in Lyon and with that, the World Cup season has officially begun. Despite the early hour, part of the stands were well filled with an enthusiastic audience. In this first round, which determines tomorrow's starting order, Boyd Exell immediately showed how it’s done, but IJsbrand Chardon increased the pressure considerably.

In the first round none of the drivers stayed clear. A number of cone gates were cunningly set up, making it difficult to drive straight into them at the high speeds. Koos de Ronde seemed to be on his way to a clear round but tapped a ball from the cones at the last gate.

The second round was driven in the reverse order of the first round standings, with the results from both rounds being added together. The F-gates of both marathon obstacles had been removed in this round, so that the riders came out of the obstacle differently. Gate 10 in particular could be taken very short, but with a lot of risk.

Koos de Ronde was again fast, but made too many mistakes with 12 penalty seconds. IJsbrand Chardon drove a brilliant second round, finishing without errors under 140 seconds (139.28) and thus put pressure on Boyd Exell. He was not to be beaten. Boyd’s team stood out again because of the high speed. Even in the short turning work, the wheelers continue to gallop in a controlled manner. He left all the balls up, finished in 134.87 and won.

Tomorrow at 12.50 pm the battle for the World Cup points and the prizes will start. Benjamin Aillaud and Boyd Exell both drive with a wildcard. The competition can be followed via a live stream.

Click here for more information and the live stream

Results 1st round World Cup Lyon

  1. Boyd Exell (AUS) 287,42
  2. IJsbrand Chardon (NED) 294,97
  3. Koos de Ronde (NED) 309,87
  4. Jérôme Voutaz (SUI) 314,74
  5. Chester Weber (USA) 320,10
  6. Benjamin AIllaud (FRA) 328,40
  7. Dries Degrieck (BEL) 328,85


Boyd Exell won today (Photo: organization M.Froment)

Copyright reserved. Acquisition without acknowledgment and permission from info@hoefnet.nl is not allowed.