Beneath an array of sparkling Christmas trees dangling from above, Bram Chardon (NED) found the perfect festive present with his first victory of the 2024-2025 series at the seventh and penultimate FEI Driving World Cup™ leg in Mechelen (BEL). His total of 124.55 beat fellow Dutchman Koos de Ronde by only 0.1, but it was enough for the win, 10 valuable ranking points and a place at the final in Bordeaux (FRA).
As the first driver forward on Monday nights’ drive-off, Bram had to wait and watch as Koos and home favourite Dries Degrieck (BEL) completed their rounds before he was confirmed as the winner.
“I had a long wait this season for my first win. I have two new horses in the team and I had high hopes throughout all the competitions but every time I made mistakes. I was very hungry for a win and wanted to finish with at least one win in this season. I was afraid my knockdown at seven was going to destroy my party because of losing some of my rhythm after seven and before eight which were tricky gates, and my line was a bit interrupted. But it was enough to put pressure on the others to make mistakes and it was a tight call in the end”, Chardon said.
“I am super happy – this team deserved the win, and we have trained very hard for it. I’ve seen their potential at every show and now, it came out. I have one more show before the finals, because it’s not finished yet and I still don’t have my clear round at this pace. It’s a wonderful event which feels like home and the crowd is amazing. I’ve won here before and I won my very first World Cup event here.”
In the drive-off Koos was 1.28 seconds quicker at the split but couldn’t maintain the pace over the second half of the course and although he was clear, the time of 124.65 meant he stayed behind Bram. Koos was also second after the first drive-off on Sunday afternoon, beating Bram into third, and has now concluded his campaign for a place at the final in Bordeaux (FRA), but he will be at the last leg in Leipzig (GER) as a wild card.
Hopes were high for a home win for Dries who had enjoyed a successful season with two wins and a second so far. Producing two fast clears during Sunday’s competition one, he was easily ahead of Koos and Bram. But the pressure seemed to take its toll despite his superb initial clear on Monday to seal his place as last to go in the drive-off, and although he shaved even more off his times and crossed the line in 118.99, a costly loss of line in marathon obstacle six meant that two balls rolled to add eight (126.99).
Growing more cohesive with each outing, Georg von Stein (GER) and his horses powered through the course for a fourth on the second day in 131.56, which included four penalties. He swapped places with a frustrated Glenn Geerts (BEL), who entered as a wild card and narrowly missed the first drive-off by only 0.13 for fourth on Sunday; he was fifth on Monday with 132.40, just 0.84 behind Georg. Both had four to add to their times, and both will be in Leipzig, although Georg has finished his season as a qualified driver and will be a wild card, but Glenn can still gain ranking points.
Tom Stokmans (BEL) is not a regular World Cup Driver but lit up the crowd as a wild card. He improved between the competitions and after tallying 20 penalties on Sunday, only had four to add to his time on Monday to finish sixth on 140.15.
Jérôme Voutaz (SUI) could not replicate the fast form he has shown elsewhere this series and despite a decent time on Friday, there were eight penalties to add. During the second competition his accuracy was askew, and the 16 penalties gave him a total of 143.30 which meant he was seventh.
The Mechelen leg also concludes the series for course builder Johan Jacobs (NED) who used the space cleverly in the long, narrow arena with his course design which had 11 separate obstacles, including a bridge in the centre.
Bram rises to third in the rankings with 24 points and will look forward to an exciting contest in Leipzig next to his father Ijsbrand Chardon (NED) now that they have each won the two most recent legs. Dries will not drive again before the final and remains in second place in the rankings on 27 points, behind leader Boyd Exell on 30 points.
Koos will anticipate that he has done enough for a Bordeaux place, but is under pressure from Jérôme, a regular finalist, who will hope to gain precious points for the trip to France. Glenn may have too much to do for a place in the final but will aim to produce more clear rounds to give himself and his new team a chance. Fredrik Persson (SWE) will also attend as a qualified driver at the last leg, and Anna Mareike Meier (GER) will be a wild card alongside Koos and Georg.
The live coverage will be on FEI TV on January 17 to 19, 2025.
Full results here.
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