Like every year, Domein Zangersheide hosts the Belgian Championship for Seniors. From September 2nd-5th 60 Belgian riders will fight for the title of Belgian Champion 2020. Of course, our twins Olivier (H&M Hurricane) and Nicola (Zayado) are in for the chase of the title as well. In 2017, it were Nicola and H&M Chilli Willi that won the trophy.
A Belgian Championship is always something to look forward to. It’s a wish for many riders to win that title. This year maybe even more, as the health crisis caused many cancelled competitions and the lack of an international contest. The Hubside Jumping in Saint-Tropez is a bit of an exception. Last weekend, Olivier and H&M Legend of Love rode an impressive CSI5* Grand Prix, finishing 3rd. “I was really longing to this competition and worked intensely towards the Grand Prix with H&M Legend of Love.” says Olivier. “And if you then achieve a great result, it’s really satisfying. H&M Legend of Love is in great shape because she jumped a lot in the past few weeks. She’s now in for a little bit of rest. Therefore, I’m taking H&M Hurricane to Zangersheide. The preparation for the championship didn’t really go the way it should, as we only found out 2 weeks ago that there would be Belgian Championship. Covid-19 makes it really hard this season for both rider and organisors. My ambition for the weekend is to end up in the top 10”.
Nicola, on the other hand, knows what it feels like to win the title. He won the Belgian Championship in 2017 with H&M Chilli Willi. “Everyone wants to become Belgian Champion one day. From my title, I remember that it was a really close battle between us and Jos Verlooy with Igor. Grégory Whatelet and Nevados finished 3rd. This says everything about the level of these championships.”, says Nicola, who’s entering the championship with Zayado this Wednesday. “I took over Zayado from Olivier at the beginning of this year. We achieved some great results already, amongst which in Saint-Tropez. We want to this over in Zangersheide. It’s my ambition to compete in the finals. If we manage to do that, everything is possible. It will be really weird to jump in front of empty stands during a championship, that used to have a lot of crowd and atmosphere.”
A few weeks ago, Anthony and Thibault already set an example by heading home after the Belgian Championships with bronze medals.
