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| Michael Freund (GER) Tomas Holcbecher |
Leipzig hosted the sixth and decisive leg of the fifth season of the FEI World Cup Driving on Sunday afternoon. Over 8.000 spectators witnessed a very exciting competition in the Leipziger Messe Halle.
Michael Freund won his third World Cup competition of this season and although the indoor-master could not get his horses in their usual rhythm and speed, the reigning World Champion turned out to be the coolest driver in Leipzig. "The competitors field in Leipzig is the strongest field of this season and it was very interesting to compete against each other," comments Freund. "The time differences between the numbers one to four was just six seconds in the warming up so it was a challenge to drive even faster in the World Cup competition." Freund qualified for the winning round, as well as his compatriot Christoph Sandmann and Ysbrand Chardon.
There was a lot at stake for Sandmann and his fellow-drivers Fredrik Persson and Koos de Ronde, who tied on the fifth place of the standings before Leipzig. If Sandmann would win, he would climb to the fifth place in the standings and get a ticket for the final in Gothenburg. But that would also mean that Persson and De Ronde would lose their starting place in the final.
Although the technical course suited Sandmann and he drove his best competition of the season, luck was not on Sandmann's side in Leipzig. "During the warm up competition the course was slightly different and offered a little more space in one of the marathon obstacles. The course was a bit tighter today and in the winning round I decided to take Friday's route. And I should not have done that", tells Sandmann.
The 38-year old driver knocked an element down and those penalty seconds kept him from victory and a starting place in Gothenburg. But Sandmann was anyhow satisfied with his performance: "I would have loved to go to Gothenburg but on the other hand I don't mind that I am not going. My outdoor season starts in a couple of weeks and I want to fully concentrate on the World Championships in Aachen".
Ysbrand Chardon saw his chances to victory disappear when one of the reins slipped through his fingers and his horses went the wrong way. Two knockdowns and loss of precious time made him end on the third place. Mechelen-winner Werner Ulrich missed the winning round by two seconds but has secured his starting place for the final, as well as Tomas Eriksson, who came fifth in Leipzig.
Being the last wild card driver of the season, Germany's Steffen Scholz had a difficult task. But the driver from Langenbernsdorf drove his team of German bred horses enthusiastic and fluently through the obstacles and was well awarded with a huge applause from his home crowd.
The final will take place in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 13 to 16 April.
Michael Freund, Ysbrand Chardon, Werner Ulrich, Zoltan Lazar, Tomas Eriksson, Koos de Ronde and Fredrik Persson will compete against each other in the Scandinavium arena. The drivers will start from scratch, which means the form of the day will most probably play an important role in the performances. Dr. Wolfgang Asendorf, who was also responsible for the courses in Hannover and Leipzig, will design the course.
Results CAI-W Leipzig:
1. Michael Freund (Ger) 227,26
2. Christoph Sandmann (Ger) 236,22
3. Ysbrand Chardon (Ned) 238,84
4. Werner Ulrich (Sui) 118,65
5. Tomas Eriksson (Swe) 130,04
6. Steffen Scholz (Ger) 136,17
Classification after 6 of 7 events:
1. Michael Freund (Ger) 30
2. Ysbrand Chardon (Ned) 19
3. Werner Ulrich (Sui) 18
4. Zoltan Lazar (Hun) 17
5. Tomas Eriksson (Swe) 14
6. Fredrik Persson (Swe) 13
Koos de Ronde (Ned) 13
Check out the official website: www.feiworldcup.org
or www.worldcupdriving.com
The Final of FEI World Cup Driving event takes place in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 15 and 16 April 2006.
Created in 2001, the Driving World Cup has provided an innovative new style of competition for indoor events, with courses combining marathon and cone driving obstacles. The 2005/2006 season of the World Cup includes seven competitions: Hannover (GER), Stuttgart (GER), Stockholm (SWE), Geneva (SUI), Mechelen (BEL) in 2005; Leipzig (GER) and Göteborg (SWE) in 2006. The top 6 after 6 events will qualify for the 7th event in Göteborg.
www.horsesport.org
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