Ben Maher conquered New York and keeps his LGCT champion title

Over thirty-five riders in this last leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour, only seven managed to qualify themselves for the jump-off. First to go, Italy’s Alberto Zorzi put a lot of pressure on the other athletes. With Ulane de Coquerie he signed a great clear round and send a message to his opponents : they had to be clear and fast to claim the victory. This message, Marcus Ehning heard it loud and clear. In great shape, his Cornado NRW galloped fast and jumped beautifully and overtook the Italian. Leader of the circuit, Peter Devos was one of the favorites, but he felt apart on the jump off as Claire Z stopped on an obstacle. With this fault, Belgium’s rider let a great opportunity for his only challenger Ben Maher to take the victory.

After their brilliant first round, Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnosson and H&M Indiana did it again with a perfect second round. Unfortunately for the pair, they were a little bit too slow and ended sixth. Same pattern for Netherlands’ Marc Houtzager with Sterrehof’s Dante (new at this level), despite their clear round they had to settle for the fifth position. Thanks to the natural speed and agility of Explosion W, Ben Maher overtook Marcus Ehning. Impressive, the British kept his Longines Global Champions Tour title. Last to go, Martin Fuchs tried everything with The Sinner but that was not enough this time. The new European Champion ended third.

Like last year, Ben Maher and Explosion W won three legs : London, Rome and New York. This summer, they were also silver medalist in the Longines European Championship of Rotterdam. The British as well as all the winners of all legs, will fight one more time in December in Prague for the Super Grand Prix.

All results here