St Tropez Pirates power to GCL Paris win under the Eiffel Tower

St Tropez Pirates’ duo of Dani G. Waldman and Olivier Robert kept cool under pressure to take their first win of the season in a rollercoaster GCL of Paris Presented by Metrobus.

The high stakes GCL team series is in top gear and the Paris stage, literally at the foot of the Eiffel Tower, saw an intense battle right until the last team. Teams had meticulously planned their tactics, but not one squad kept a clean sheet in the second round of the competition which was full of high drama and emotion.

Valkenswaard United teammates Alberto Zorzi and Edwina Tops-Alexander clinched a crucial second place, while Cannes Stars claimed their first podium of the year in third spot with Sameh El Dahan and Agustin Covarrubias Teavanta.

Valkenswaard United’s consistency rewarded them with an extended lead in the overall 2021 GCL Championship where they are now sitting pretty on 157 points with Shanghai Swans 41 points behind on 116. Monaco Aces cling onto third place with 108 points after only picking up 11 points in Paris.

The fantastic top-level sport delighted spectators at the unique venue in the French capital on the Champs de Mars next to the world famous Eiffel Tower.

It has been a slightly rocky start to the season for St Tropez Pirates, but today a smiling Dani G Waldman explained:

This is a necessary win for us, it is wonderful to have to win to help us move up the standings so we are thrilled, it is really important to us.”

Team mate Olivier Robert spoke of his pride at winning on home soil:

It’s amazing to win here, at home in Paris. Being last to go, I had a lot of time to watch the course. Contrary to what one thinks, it’s not so easy to have this seat as the doubt arises for two or three little things. At the beginning of the class, I went back to the stables to have a moment alone with Vivaldi… and then we came in and finally everything went amazingly this afternoon.”

Gregory Bodo set a technical course with plenty of options for the riders. The biggest question was the penultimate line, a full up combination set right next to the public grandstand on the long side of the arena. There were poles down all over the course and the team pressure proved too much for some as the faults quickly added up.

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Suzanne Ashton

Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.