In Tokyo the qualification for the team competition was jumped just now. For the Dutch team it remained exciting until the end: Maikel van der Vleuten in the saddle of Beauville could limit the damage so that the Netherlands moved up from eleventh to ninth place, just enough for a place in tomorrow's final. Meanwhile Rob Ehrens announced that Willem Greve will be replaced by Harrie Smolders tomorrow.
Willem Greve got a total of 13 penalty points behind his name with Zypria S: "I think it really sucks, for the guys too. Zypria S started very well for me. I hope the guys have a good day, and that they can make up for it and that we can still get there. If only I had made catastrophic driving errors, but I can't put my finger on it. This will keep me awake for a few nights. This simply cannot be allowed to happen. You don't go to all the trouble to travel all the way to Tokyo for this. It is very possible that Marc and Maikel will ride two more clear rounds. The course is easy to do, it is very well built, good to the front. It is technical, but we had a good plan. The focus is good, the warming up was good, she is fit and passable. It can be such a beautiful sport, but not today", said a disappointed Willem Greve.
Robert Ehrens also decided to make a change in the team: "Tomorrow is a new battle, I had to revise the plan and change the starting order. Willem has been replaced by Harrie. This has been done in good consultation with Willem, also in the context of the well-being of the horse. It's quite a gamble, but we shouldn't ask for another round of Zypria. Marc will start first tomorrow, followed by Harrie and finally Maikel. We've been in tougher scrapes than this. We have to be realistic, but the battle is not over yet. We keep on fighting and with the knife between our teeth we will go for three 0-rounds tomorrow and then we will look further."
Source: KNHS
Photo: Libby Law