Ben Maher, champion of champions in Prague

Last night in Prague, the Super Grand Prix of the Longines Global Champions Tour was held, a two-round event reserved for the winners of the circuit’s legs. Designed by Uliano Vezzani, the first round required courage and precision throughout the sixteen efforts of the course. Opening Marcus Ehning did not have an easy task. Despite the German’s talent, he couldn’t stop Cornado NRW from crashing in the first double. Same scenario on this combination for Peder Fredricson. With H&M All In, the Sweden finally crossed the finish line with eight points.

To applaud the first clear round of the evening, public had to wait for Julien Epaillard, the only Frenchman in the event. In the saddle on Vituose de Champeix, the French number one did not fail to explode with joy on the finish line. The course proved to be much more difficult for some pairs such as the Belgian Jérome Guéry and Quel Homme de Hus, eight points, Jessica Springsteen and RMF Zecilie, sixteen points, Martin Fuchs and Clooney 51, four points or Olivier Philippaerts and H&M Legend of Love, eight points.

Nevertheless, the Frenchman was not the only one to sign a clear round in the first race. British Ben Maher at the helm of Explosion W, Daniel Deusser on Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z, Dani G. Waldman associated with Caspar 213, also made a perfect first set.

In the second round, Uliano Vezzani’s course didn’t seem any easier. In reverse order of the provisional standings, Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam was the first to return to the track at the helm of Chaqui Z. Unfortunately, three mistakes were added to the nine points from his first course. For Maikel Van Der Vleuten, the evening ended better than it started. Thanks to a perfect score from Verdi TN, the Dutch couple kept their score of eight points. The outcome was the same for Peder Fredricson. He also scored two bars in the first run and managed to achieve a perfect run in the second round. With only four points on the scoreboard, Brazilian Marlon Modolo Zanotelli, riding on VDL Edgar M, managed to stabilize his score. The same was true for the Swiss Martin Fuchs and Clooney 51 and the German Marcus Ehning.

In this second set, Darragh Kenny had a good shot to play since he only came back on track with a one-point penalty. Perfect, Balou du Reventon hasn’t touched a single bar. On the other hand, the Irish rider was unable to make it back on time and a second time point was added to his final score.

First to enter the track with a blank score, Israeli Dani G. Waldman failed to repeat her performance and scored nine points on this second track. With four penalty points, Daniel Deusser also failed to stay at zero. Then came Julien Epaillard’s turn. Before last to start, the Frenchman was one of the favorites for this Super Grand Prix. After a first fault, the rider tried to move up a gear to ensure a good ranking. Unfortunately, the risk-taking didn’t pay off last night. With two additional faults, Julien Epaillard finally finished in twelfth place. With enormous pressure on his shoulders, Ben Maher closed this colorful event. Without shaking, the British made a real demonstration by signing the only double clear round of the evening.

All the results here