Maikel van der Vleuten was the big winner of the LGCT Grand Prix in Cannes yesterday. With Beauville Z NOP (by Bustique), he seemed to float through the course and took the win as the very last to start. This victory puts the Netherlands in the lead in the overall standings with forty points, with about half of the season behind him.
"It's a fantastic feeling to be able to win here today. The way Beauville NOP jumped was also just excellent. I had made a plan together with my father before entering the jump-off, it was good that he was here. To then also be able to execute that plan well is an indescribable feeling. Beauville and I did really well today," beamed a very satisfied Maikel van der Vleuten.
"Beauville wanted to win just as hard as I did today. My family was here but also his owner and her husband attended the competition. The GCL audience always enjoys the sport and cheers on every rider. If I can then ride the right jump-off, I get a good feeling from that. Both to the audience and to my owners and supporters."
Stick to the plan
"The level was as always very high. The first round was not an easy one, but still we were left with thirteen riders. When you are with that many, there is some pressure to take risks. However, I try not to worry about that and I'm not going to force Beauville because of that. Everything went very smoothly today, I was able to win in a good way. That's the most important thing for me."
"I didn't want to start too fast, so that the seven canter jumps that followed would just come normally. Then I tried to take a good, tight turn to keep the forward pace in it more and it worked out. Beauville also did an excellent job in the combination. Then I wanted to pick up the pace a bit more, which also worked out well. At the half, I had already driven over a second and a half off the time. Then it was a matter of keeping the focus and not doing anything stupid. I didn't take all the risks to that last obstacle."
Leading position in the overall standings
"In the end, the eight best results of each rider are added together. I have now ridden six results together, some of which are good anyway. The competitions in Stockholm and Paris are not on my schedule, the next one where I will start is Monte Carlo. Hopefully I have created some space to get back in a comfortable position. I will do my best to win the general classification, I am looking forward to that."
"To make that happen, however, I'm not going to change my schedule, we'll follow the predetermined schedule. It's important to keep the horses healthy and happy, you can't always go 100%. Beauville, for example, is now getting a quiet week including walks, to take his mind off things."
Source: GCTV