Hamburg Diamonds doubled their lead over arch rivals Valkenswaard United at the Global Champions League in Rome on Saturday, with one leg left to go.
The formidable duo of Harrie Smolders and Eric Lamaze were the epitome of grace under pressure keeping ice-cool heads to take the win. The Diamonds are on top of the leaderboard on 295 points with United on 278 points pulling even further ahead of St Tropez Pirates, Miami Glory, Mexico Amigos and London Knights.
Starting off on the back-foot, the Diamonds toppled Valkenswaard United off pole position after round one, winning today’s event and consolidating their lead overall. Despite a valiant attempt from Marcus Ehning and Alberto Zorzi, United couldn’t match the Diamonds today and had to settle for third place setting up a thrilling finale in Doha. Second today went to Miami Glory with masterful clear rounds from the ever-consistent teammates Scott Brash and Denis Lynch.
"I felt I needed a good performance," said Eric Lamaze of the Diamonds-team. "We felt very good about our chances but we definitely had to come from behind and put some pressure on. My horse is a bit quicker than Harrie’s. The strategy is to try to be clear and quick and it worked out for us today."
"So far it is going to plan but every round counts so in Doha it can still go wrong," said Lamaze's team mate Harrie Smolders. "But we have had a very strong season. Our start was not too good but Eric put us back on track with his amazing performance."
Source: Press release from GCL // Picture © Stefano Grasso/GCL