Pieter Devos triumphs in Bordeaux and sees the final

Pieter Devos has headed to Bordeaux this weekend with a clear cut target: finish in the top five and earn enough points to secure a spot at the FEI World Cup Jumping 2018 Final in Paris from 10th to 15th April.
Mission accomplished by the 31-year-old Belgian who won the second-last leg in Bordeaux and got 20 points to jump up to seventh position in the Western European League ranking. There is only one qualifier left before the final and for each rider only the best seven finishes of the season are taken into account. That’s why Devos has secured one foot in the Paris final.
He won the in Bordeaux with his fourteen-year-old BWP-gelding Espoir: he knew he had all to do and also risked a lot. His fast time of 36,53 seconds remained unbeaten, despite the best efforts of Germany’s three-time champion Marcus Ehning who had to settle for runner-up spot and Spain’s Manuel Fernandez Saro who lined up in third.  
Italy’s Lorenzo De Luca and Alberto Zorzi finished respectively 16th with 4 penalties atop of Ensor de Litrange LXII and 20th with same penalties on Ego van Orti.
Full resultlist: http://www.longinestiming.com/#!/equestrian/2018/1438/html/en/longinestiming/resultlist_S04.html
After the leg in Bordeaux, Zorzi sits in the 12th spot of the general ranking with 45 points: he will have to give his utmost in Gothemburg, Sweden to qualify for the final.
The table continues to be dominated by France’s Kevin Staut with 79 points, while Sweden’s Henrik von Eckermann lies second with 64. Marcus Ehning has now moved up to third place (57 points), followed by Christian Ahlmann (56 points) and France’s Roger-Yves Bost (52 points).
Behind them, Edwina Tops-Alexander is sixth with 50 points, while Bordeaux winner Devos climbed to seventh position with 49 points. Eight is Daniel Deusser with 48 points and ninth is Ireland’s Denis Lynch with 47. Bottom of the top ten is Carlos Enrique Lopez Lizarazo with 46 punti.
Ranking Longines Fei World Cup: http://results.hippodata.de/2018/1438/docs/longines_fei_world_cup_wel_bo…Press Releasephoto RBPresse credits Christophe Bricotphoto RBPresse