Dries Degrieck (BEL) dazzled at the eighth leg of the FEI Driving World Cup™ in Leipzig (GER) to beat the best and win the last qualifying event before the final.
Producing a sizzling drive-off in the Leipziger Messe on Sunday lunchtime, he beat two World Cups titans – Boyd Exell (AUS) and Bram Chardon (NED) – to win with a clear round in 148.37. Earning ten points for the rankings table, Dries qualifies for Bordeaux (FRA) in joint second place on 24 points with Ijsbrand Chardon (NED).
“It was a nice course to drive and most of the people who will be in the final in Bordeaux are also here so actually, we didn’t expect so much, because the others are also very strong. My horses were really good. I have a new wheeler for this season and every competition I can feel that he gets stronger and stronger. I am so pleased with them – my leaders did an amazing job and sometimes they help me out when I make a little mistake!”Dries Degrieck
After winning competition one late on Friday night, former champion Bram had everything in his favour and looked like he would be the World Cup winner in Leipzig. On Sunday, he retained his scorching pace and precision, and as the last to drive in round one, had the advantage of watching his rivals’ rounds. Producing a speedy clear, he looked set to leave Leipzig triumphant.
With only the top three in both drive-offs, it was same line up each time. Boyd was the first back in the arena for Sunday’s drive-off. Moving on from the frustration of 20 penalties for navigating an obstacle in the wrong order on Friday night, he chose to trial a new horse in the team. Competing as a wild card, and already topping the table with 30 points, he came down a gear and finished in 161.80, which included 12 penalties for three ball rolls.
Following Boyd in, Dries proceeded to drive with such speed and conviction that he clocked a new fastest time over Jeroen Houterman’s (NED) flowing course. Choosing routes that encompassed wider, sweeping lines, he played to the strength of his famously fast horses, and they were able to keep up their momentum through the turns of the two marathon style obstacles, numbers five and nine. The tactic of giving the upright elements a wider berth, where the penalty blocks were precariously balanced, meant that Dries reduced the chances of adding penalty seconds, and it paid off.
The Belgian’s exemplary round meant that last in, Bram had to go all-out to try and better what had just happened. His horses’ strength is their accuracy, which shaves off time, but it depends on the lines being spot on. Sadly, Bram was marginally out on his approach to a pair of cones near the end of the course and the left wheels hit it too hard for the ball to do anything but roll on the ground. The four seconds added were a hefty price to pay, and despite a time that was 1.69 seconds faster, he had to settle for second with 150.68.
Fourth placed Anna Sandmann (GER) ended her first World Cup season on a high with a clear round in 159.65. Using one of Boyd’s experienced indoor horses in the left lead, Neapolitano Nimrod, she drove a smooth and confident round which bodes well for future seasons should she qualify again. But there was disappointment for the Sandmann family as her father Christoph, another former World Cup champion, could not take up his wild card place in Leipzig due to injury.
Anna Mareike Meier (GER) was also a wild card and bowed out of her season by finishing fifth on 170.98. Ijsbrand Chardon (NED) was sixth on 172.29 after a bell ring and rebuild meant that his round on Sunday was momentarily halted. Assured of a place in the final, it mattered not as the veteran former champion remains a firm crowd favourite and clearly relished his time in the arena.
Now the last leg has been completed, the six drivers who have qualified for the final in Bordeaux (FRA) in February are Boyd, Ijsbrand, Bram, Dries, Christoph and Jérôme Voutaz (SUI). Michael Mayer (SUI) will be the course designer for what promises to be one of the closest title races in recent history. Boyd and Bram have alternated as champions since Bram’s first World Cup crown in 2019. But Dries, who was second last year in Bordeaux, has shown again in Leipzig that his world title aspirations are within reach because he has what it takes to beat the best – which he can now claim to be.