Young Maikel van der Vleuten claims the Longines G.P. in Lyon
The young Dutch rider (25 years old) is is not exactly an unknown entity: Olympic team gold medallist, seven international wins this year, including the Grand Prix 5* in ‘s-Hertogenbosch and twelve last year; but this Sunday's win in the Longines Grand Prix is the best in his career ….and that's from the horse's mouth. But Maikel van der Vleuten had a good teacher: his father Eric is himself an international rider, and still competing. As Sylvie Robert pointed out, this Grand Prix “was like an appetizer for the World Cup, since nearly all the world's top riders were lined up, and the drama was incredible.” It is true that this class had more than its fair share of surprises and turnarounds, starting with the disappointments of the French riders: a refusal and fall for Kevin Staut (Silvana*HDC), the horse clipping an oxer and a fall for the European Champion Roger-Yves Bost (on Colombo van den Blauwaert)! In the jump-off, with victory in sight, Patrice Delaveau (Orient Express) also had a refusal, but stayed in the saddle. In short, destiny had decided this Grand Prix would not be won by a French rider.
There were thirteen riders in the jump-off, which was run at a relatively quick pace. Rodrigo Pessoa (Cadjanine Z) clearly wanted this win and recorded the best time, but with a fault….witnessing his obvious frustration afterwards highlighted the importance of winning this class for the world's top riders!
Finally, the names of Maikel van der Vleuten and VDL Groep Verdi will go down in the Lyon history books! “Verdi is an important horse for me at this stage in my career; that's why I manage the number of competitions he does carefully. Having said that, I intend to qualify for the World Cup because I want to come back here in six months. I already scored ten points in Scandinavia and I'm going to try and improve my total by the end of the year.” VDL Groep Verdi belongs to a famous Dutch stud-farm (Van der Lageweg) and he is an important stallion: as proof, his son Bonjovi won the previous class here today, reserved for young horses.
After this feat, Maikel had to go back to the stables to load up his horses and set off on the long drive back to Holland, sharing the wheel with his groom: “Yeah, it's a long drive and I can't leave her to do the journey on her own; it's a twelve-hour drive.”
Such is the life of a rider, even an Olympic champion: even though he has just won one of the most important Grands Prix on the circuit, he still has to deal with the day-to-day tasks, including that of driver when necessary!
As for the GL-events team, the work does not stop there! In the wake of this successful Equita 2013, they must now put the finishing touches to the preparation of the world’s most important international indoor meeting: the FEI Reem Acra Dressage and FEI Longines Jumping World Cup Finals. Roll on the 17th of April 2013!