PIERRE Michelet’s cross-country track is a major talking point of the eventing competition at Rio 2016.
Dressage leader William Fox-Pitt described it as “a decent course, the biggest Olympic course I’ve walked, but Chilli is more than ready, I just hope I can do him justice.”
He continued: “It’s a true Michelet course, four corners and four skinnies, always committing you so that if you are not right on line then you will have a run-out, always encouraging you to attack it.
The distances are all on the long side, it’s the most difficult Olympic Games I’ve seen but that’s how it should be. It will be a pretty good feeling if I go clear!”
He feels the Chilli Morning, Badminton 2015 winner, will tackle it without difficulty however.
“There are no worrying fences out there for him, fence six (brush corners) is ugly, but the one I really don’t like is the corner to the gate (fences 23/23, The Malmesbury Cottage), there are just four strides to do it in, and with Chilli that’s a big question because he’s big and strong,” he added.
Ingrid Kilmke, who lies fourth on 39.50 with Horseware Hale Bob said: “I haven’t seen such a challenging course since Sydney (2000 Olympic Games). My Bobby is fast and he is a mature horse so he should cope well and I’m looking forward to it. But we know that when we go out there we have to do a very precise job tomorrow.
Ireland’s Mark Kyle, at this third Olympic Games, is looking forward to the cross-country challenge, saying: “I think it’s going to be very influential tomorrow, I don’t think it’s going to be a dressage competition.”
His teammate Clare Abbott was equally positive, telling The Irish Field: “We’ve been doing CICs this year so I cannot wait to ride a four-star course, gallop for 10 minutes and give the time a good rattle!”
BRAVE, ACCURATE AND BOLD
Course designer Pierre Michelethas thought long and hard about how to challenge the most experienced riders in the sport along with those who have relatively less mileage on the clock.
“I want the best to win without asking too big questions of the less experienced riders. The reputation of the sport is important. I want to challenge the riders and I ask them to find clever solutions for the many options on offer.To get on the podium they will need to be brave, accurate and bold,” he said.
There has indeed been a lot of course-walking going on over the last few days as riders make their plans and then alter them and settle on new ones that will get them home on the quickest and safest route.
“This course is not about one signature fence, it’s about about clearing all of them! I ask the difficult questions from the start, that is my signature. The first water will be fence number four already. The riders need to be ready from step one.”
Track
Talking about creating the track that wends it way up and downhill through the land that surround the Deodoro military complex he explained: “We started three years ago, first with an architectural firm to map out the track and the walkways and then the track builders started to work with improving the ground. Then we decided the spots for the fences.
I came to Brazil in December for a month and the final details took two weeks. The layout was the same for the test event in 2015, but all the fences are new because of the different level of difficulty.”
Cross-country day looks set to be a thriller, and it seems it’s going to be a wide-open race for the medals right down to the final day. There is almost nothing between the Germans and French at the head of affairs, and with the British so close to the Australians who are currently in bronze medal spot and Ireland, New Zealand and USA a real threat to any of those ahead of them who might lose their grip there’s no room for error over a course that, the night before they take it on, may well be giving many of the world’s top event riders a restless night’s sleep.
IRISH CROSS-COUNTRY TIMES:
Padraig McCarthy 2.09pm (Irish time)
Clare Abbott 3.21pm
Jonty Evans 4.47pm
Mark Kyle 6.03pm
INDIVIDUAL TOP 10 AFTER DRESSAGE
1. William Fox-Pitt (GBR) Chilli Morning 37
2. Christopher Burton (AUS) Santano Ii 37.6
3. Mathieu Lemoine (FRA) Bart L 39.20
4. Ingrid Klimke (GER) Hale Bob 39.50
5. Michael Jung (GER) Sam FBW 40.90
6. Thibault Vallette (FRA) Qing Du Briot 41
7. Karin Donckers (BEL) Fletcha Van’t Verahof 41.10
8. Sandra Auffarth (GER) Opgun Luovo 41.60
9. Jonty Evans (IRL) Cooley Rorkes Drift 41.80
10. Stefano Brecciaroli (ITA) Apollo Vd Wendi Kurt 41.90
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