Set under the floodlights in the most compact arena on the calendar, the competition unfolded over two rounds - a demanding first round followed by a nail-biting jump-off. Out of a field stacked with world-class talent, van der Vleuten and his 15-year-old gelding rose to the occasion, producing a sensational double clear in 32.22 seconds to top the leaderboard.

The Dutch star beamed after his win talking to GCTV: “Beauville was fantastic again tonight. It was a very technical course in a difficult arena - the fences are so close you have to be aware as they come up too quickly, and the horses need to help you in some situations. I think I did one less stride between one and two compared to everyone else, and he found the rollbacks super easy, so I didn’t have to push too hard.”

Alexa Ferrer and the elegant Vitalhorse Fleur d’Oz put in a stylish performance to finish second with a time of 33.50 seconds, while Max Kühner-who set the early pace as first to go-secured third aboard EIC Up Too Jacco Blue with a tidy 33.91 seconds.

While the jump-off field was fierce, the course designed by Uliano Vezzani proved unforgiving. Julien Epaillard looked set to challenge the top time but had the final rail down in an otherwise blistering round. Pieter Devos, Kendra Claricia Brinkop, and Lorenzo de Luca also incurred costly penalties despite fast times, keeping them off the podium.