Our family was ‘au grand complet’ in Mechelen. Thibault rode his first 5 star competition. Nicola worked on his way back after his fall and saw the great performances his brother Olivier, unfortunately unrewarded. It was the youngest of our family who took home a gold medal.
Now that the Holidays are over, we take a little time to look back at Jumping Mechelen. Overall, Olivier rode some amazing rounds. His first round in the World Cup with H&M Legend of Love was amazing, but he got one fence down in the jump-off. “Jumping Mechelen was successful.”, says Oliver, “My performances were pretty good in almost all the main classes. I was very steady, but didn’t triumph. A 6th place in the World Cup is not bad at all, but I could have been 2nd as well. Unfortunately, a really unlucky fault in the jump-off kept us away from that 2nd place.”. Anyway, Olivier accomplished his best result of this season and ends up 36th. A decision about a possible continuation in the World Cup follows later.
Nicola participated in the World Cup as well, with Katanga van het Dingeshof. “When I got 2 fences down, I realized I didn’t meet the expectations. I really don’t want to hide behind my injury. However, it kept me away from ending 2019 the way I hoped. In a few weeks, I start to prepare for the Olympic year in Oliva.”
Anthony won the Flandria Rent Grand Prix. “That was a very pleasant victory.”, smiles Ludo. “Olivier can look back at a strong competition with a 6th place in the World Cup, a 5th in the GP of Flanders, a 3rd place in the Masters and a 4th in de Sires class. He was there in every class, but just missed out on a victory.”
