It was Belgium's Nicola Philippaerts that went to the top in Sunday's final CSI5* 1.55 competition in Valkenswaard, riding H&M Harley v. Bisschop (Dulf Van Den Bisschop x Coronado).

Aboard the 9-year-old gelding, the Belgian rider moved on to the jump-off as one of seven riders. Opening up against the clock, Nicola held the lead from start to finish with a fantastic round that saw the clock stopping at 40.80 seconds.

None of those to come could do anything about the time, although they all tried. Despite a spectacular clear, Germany's Hansi Dreher had to settle for runner-up position on the 15-year-old stallion Embassy II (Escudo I x Silvio I) with a time of 41.21 seconds. Third place went to another Belgian rider as Jos Verlooy ended third on Sunshine (Diamant De Semilly x Hardi) in 42.49 seconds. The best home rider was Harrie Smolders in fourth, while Austria's Max Kühner was fifth.

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