Edited press release from Longines Global Champions Tour

The Longines Global Champions Tour of Miami Beach kicked off on Thursday, and it was Dutch rider Maikel van der Vleuten who emerged victorious aboard Elwikke (Eldorado vd Zeshoek x Quick Star) – taking the win by a mere 0.08 of a second. The crowd of beach goers erupted in applause as van der Vleuten snatched the lead from USA's Natalie Dean and Chadora Lady (Chacco-Blue x Nintender).

Talking to GCTV, Maikel said: “We had a great show here last year so always good to come back to Miami Beach at this iconic location. Fingers crossed for the team GCL class tomorrow and we can repeat what we did last year. We had a good round today, Elwikke was really focused the whole round and was feeling really comfortable… I could use her big stride, so now and then I could leave some strides out. We had a very smooth round without taking too much energy out of her.”

Irish rider Shane Sweetnam and Irandole du Flot (Vivaldi du Seigneur x Ogano Sitte) completed the podium, finishing 0.29 seconds behind the winning time.