Martin Fuchs, brilliant in Madrid

They were thirty-four starters in the Longines Global Champions Tour in Madrid this week-end. This fifth leg of the circuit was not easy for the riders as only eleven couples were clear in the first round. The tracks designed by Spanish course designer Santiago Varela Ullastres was also tricky because the time was very short and lots of riders did not manage to finish their round in less than 86 seconds. That was the case for Swedes Malin Baryard-Johnson and Peder Fredricson who picked up a single time fault.

At the end of the first round, eleven riders qualified themselves for the jump-off. Among them, only one Britain rider over five was left to defend Great Britain colors : Ben Maher on Explosion W. Second to go in the first round, Emiliy Moffitt on Winning Good finished they course with four faults. The pair had to settle for the seventeenth position. They were followed by William Whitaker on RMF Cadeau de Muze. With five points, they were at the nineteenth place. On Hello Jefferson, Scott Brash finished with eight points and a twenty-third position. Finally, Michael Whitaker on Strides Hilanasterne decided to retire.

First to go in the jump-off, Israel’s Danielle Goldstein was determined to repeat her performance of Shanghai. With Lizziemary, she posted a clear in 40.86 seconds, setting a high bar for the remaining ten riders. Unfortunately, it was not enough to win and she had to settle for the fourth place. Netherland’s Bart Bles and Gin D, in a very good shape, signed a clear round in 40.11 seconds. They ended at the third place, their first Longines Global Champions Tour podium. Faster, his compatriot Maikel van der Vleuten on Dana Blue dreamed of the victory as they concluded the round clear in 39.77 seconds. Last year’s Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Madrid’s winner Ben Maher on Explosion W did not manage to take the lead. Slower, they also finished with two fences down. The rider had to settle for the tenth place. Last to go, Martin Fuchs knew he had to be faster than Maikel van der Vleuten, and he did it ! With Chaplin, he was less than three tenths of a second quicker than the Netherland’s rider. “I was lucky to be last to go and then I knew what I had to do and I had the support of all the Spanish fans here”, confessed the delighted winner.

After five legs of Longines Global Champions Tour competition, Belgium’s Pieter Devos remains top the rankings, with Germany’s Daniel Deusser in second and Netherlands’s Maikel ven der Vleuten now in third.

Full results here:

Overall ranking here: