| Longines Global Champions Tour in Rome
Last weekend, after only one weekend’s break, the next leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour was already on the schedule. Following Riesenbeck, New York and Vienna, the Riesenbeck International team powered by Horse Gym travelled to the Italian capital, with Christian once again part of the team. Together with Chageorge and Checker, he made the trip to Rome.
The Global Champions League competitions were already on the agenda on Friday. The first round looked promising, as both Christian with Chageorge and Maximilian Weishaupt with Zuccero HV jumped clear, and Christian also secured an individual placing with a fast time. After the first round, the team was in 5th place. In the challenging second round, in which only one team managed to have both riders go clear, our team had to accept 12 penalty points.
You can find a detailed report on the Global Champions League here:
For Christian, the competition continued on Saturday with two 5* classes. However, both Checker and Chageorge had one rail down each, and despite the fastest time of the class from Chageorge, it wasn’t quite enough for another placing. In the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Rome, Christian started with Checker on Sunday and began the course strongly. But on the final line, the pair had a rail down at the first element of the combination, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the decisive jump-off. In the end, the Riesenbeck pair finished 16th, earning 21 points in the overall standings.
As a result, Christian had to give up his second place to Harrie Smolders, who was able to claim his third Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix victory of the season in Rome. The Dutch rider now sits in second place with 214 points, closely followed by Christian in third with 208 points after 14 of the 16 stages. The Belgian Gilles Thomas remains in the lead with 275 points, having only been beaten by Harrie Smolders in Rome.
The next LGCT leg will already take place next weekend, when Team Riesenbeck International heads to Rabat, Morocco. For Team Beerbaum, the week begins with a late entry at home in Riesenbeck, before James and Ciaran travel to the CSI3* in Herning, and Philipp and Christian head to Rabat for the next LGCT leg.
