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New Olympic champion Ben Maher heads entries for Global Champions Tour in London


  • Olympic champion Ben Maher will be joined by his Tokyo teammates as they take on the world’s best at the London leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT).

    The ninth leg of the 2021 tour will take place at the Royal Hospital Chelsea from Friday to Sunday (13-15 August), featuring riders from 18 countries.

    Ben Maher, Holly Smith, Harry Charles and Scott Brash will be joined by fellow Brits including John, Robert and Ellen Whitaker, Emily Moffitt and Laura Renwick. Olympic team gold medallists Henrik von Eckermann and Peder Fredricson from Sweden, team silver medal-winning US rider Laura Kraut, and Belgium’s team bronze medal-winning riders Pieter Devos and Gregory Wathelet are among those also taking part.

    A GCT spokesman said the “great duel” between Ben and Scott will be played out at the prestigious venue with both riders “hungry” to add another London GCT grand prix win to their accolades. Scott won the competition in 2014, 2017 and 2018, while Ben was victorious in 2019.

    “In previous years, it has been a two-horse race to the finish, with Brash and Maher vying for the top spot in front of passionate home crowds with excitement until the final fence,” he said.

    “Historically, the London event has seen five British winners in the six times it has been held but this year with six of the current Olympic medallists present will an international superstar buck the trend and take a win on British soil?”

    Winners of the grand prix will qualify for the LGCT super grand prix at GC Prague Playoffs in November. If the winner has already qualified, the ticket will pass down the line. Ben and Scott have already qualified.

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