The scene is set, and the battle line drawn for the Longines Global Champions Tour Final, held from 27 – 29 September in New York. The unmissable showdown sees only one point separating the season’s top two riders Pieter Devos (BEL) and Ben Maher (GBR) in the Championship.
The fight for the LGCT crown is on a knife edge, in one of the closest duels in the history of the LGCT. In a dramatic shake up last weekend Devos took over the ranking lead after finishing second in the LGCT Grand Prix of Ramatuelle/Saint-Tropez putting him on 278 points, just one point ahead of Ben Maher (GBR) on 277.
Both riders have been volleying for the lead, leapfrogging each other to take over the top spot in the ranking at different points throughout the season.
However, with only 9 scores counting in each rider’s tally, Maher is in a slightly stronger position heading into the Finals in New York despite being second currently in the ranking. Here is how the scoring could work out…
• If Maher secures 5th position or higher he will secure back to back title wins.
• If Devos achieves 5th or higher, then Maher must finish in 14th or higher or the title will go to the Belgian rider.
And statistically, if both riders qualify for the LGCT Grand Prix of New York, judged on previous performances we can see that Devos has scored consistently higher at more events in the competition, whereas Maher has two LGCT Grand Prix wins to his name.
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Daniel Deusser (GER) is sitting 3rd in the ranking on 259 points and there is still an outside chance if he finishes 1st or 2nd, with Maher and Devos not qualifying for the LGCT Grand Prix. If that scenario happens there is a chance the German could be crowned Champion.
At the previous legs Maher and Devos both strongly hinted that they would bring their top horses Explosion W and Claire Z to New York, so the stage is set for an epic sporting showdown.
Tomorrow further details will be revealed on the electric Finals of the GCL team series which is also going down to the wire.
For more information about the event, please click here.
For the full rider list, please click here.
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