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March 18, 2017

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Ryan Wood won both the CCI4-S and CCI3-S at Bromont (2)

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August 17, 2026

By Staff Writers

BROMONT, Canada--Ryan Wood of Australia on Clooney R won the CCI4-S and also placed both first and second place in the CCI3-S at the Bromont CCI-S Horse Trials on Sunday, Aug. 16. 

Ryan Wood on Clooney R (Photo by Raphaelle Goulet)Wood on Clooney R started Sunday’s cross-country in fourth place on 37.7.

He jumped clear on cross-country, adding 14.0 time penalties to finish on 51.7 and move to the top of the CCI4-S leaderboard.

Canada’s Colleen Loach on Chiaro Z Excalibur also finished on 51.7, after jumping clear and adding 14.8 time penalties to her dressage score.

With the Wood and Loach tied on their final scores, Wood was placed first by finishing closest to the optimum cross-country time.

LAUREN NICHOLSON on Landmark Jungle’s Gold placed third on 54.4, jumping clean and adding 18.4 time penalties on cross-country.

“Very proud to come away from Bromont with wins in both the CCI4-S with Clooney, owned by Mary Perry, and the CCI3-S with Indy, owned by Mary Hazzard, and with Hicks, owned by Curran Simpson, finishing just behind in second,” said Wood. “All three horses have been with us since they were 4 or 5-year-olds, which makes weeks like this especially rewarding. It’s exciting to see them continue to develop and deliver results at this level, and even more rewarding to share it with the owners who have believed in them from the beginning.”

Wood also credited Silva Martin and Sarah Dodge for their work with him and the horses on the dressage.

Wood’s weekend became even more impressive in the CCI3-S.

Sitting ninth after show jumping, Woodstock Indy delivered one of the strongest cross-country performances of the division, jumping clean and adding just 0.4 time penalties to climb all the way to first place on a final score of 36.1.

Wood then placed second on Hicks de Lyse, who also jumped clear on cross-country and added 10.0 time penalties to finish on 43.2, giving Wood the top two spots in the CCI3-S.

“But the highlight of the week might have been having our baby girl Annabelle at her first away show,” Wood said. “A big thank you to Lil and Grandma Jaq for making that possible, and to Greta and the whole team at home and all our sponsors for the hard work behind the scenes that makes weeks like this happen.”

“Lots to be excited about with these horses and what’s ahead.”

Jumping, Para Dressage and Driving at the World Championship (2)

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August 18, 2026

By SARA CAVANAGH

AACHEN, Germany--Show jumping and Para Dressage begin tomorrow, Wednesday, with jumping at 3:30 am Eastern, and Para Dressage at 2:30 a.m.. Eastern.

Laura Kraut on Baloutinue at the Aachen Nations Cup in 2024Driving begins Thursday at 5 a..m. Eastern.

The show jumping team faces a tough trial as it lost World number one Kent Farrington when he withdrew from consideration, and the team has since been decimated by withdrawals.

Farrington may have been right to withdraw Greya, who had four faults in Aachen's huge grass arena and then also four faults in Dublin.

The huge, long course and three straight days of competition followed by a rest day and the final individual competition might not have suited the mare. 

THEN FIRST Marilyn Little on La Contessa, who had been sensational all spring, had to withdraw, and then Laura Kraut had to substitute Baloutinue for Bisquetta. 

Kraut is joined by McLain Ward on High Star Hero, Lillie Keenan on Fasther and Katie Dinan on Out of the Blue with Natalie Dean on Mr.Bombastic as the traveling reserve.

There are 146 riders competing, and among the top teams competing are the favorites, the hometown team of Germany, Belgium, France, Ireland, Great Britain, Sweden and Switzerland.

"Just making the top 10 teams in the team final on Friday will be difficult," said chef d'equipe Robert Ridland.

The Youth Jumping, a new category at the Wold Championship, begins Thursday with Olivia Sweetnam and JJ Torano competing for the U.S.

As it is a new category, there are no favorites,and there has been no listing of the criteria for the competitors, but presumably it's an U25 competition.

Thibeau Spits of Belguim currently leads the U25 world rankings over Antoine Ermann of France and Ireland's Tom Wachman.

The Para Dressage team of Olympic individual and team gold medalists Rebeca Hart and Fiona Howard are joined by Kate Shoemaker and Marie Vanderheyden.

There are 94 competing in Para Dressage, and the favorites are the U.S., Denmark, Germany and Great Britain.

There are 54 competing in driving with the U.S. represented by Jimmy Fairclough, Taren Lester and Chester Weber. 

The favorites are Netherlands, that has won for the last 12 times, Australia, Belgium and Germany,

Last week in Vaulting, Kimberly Palmer had the best finish for the U.S., placing fourth in the Individual Female Free Test.

In the Squads Free Test and the official Team Competition, the U.S. was sixth of eight teams,in the Individual Male Free Test, the U.S. placed 11th and 16thof 20 and in the Pas de Deux, the U.S.was eighth of 11.Last week in Vaulting, Kimberly Palmer had the best finish for the U.S., placing fourth in the Individual Female Free Test.

Over 240,000 spectators attended the first week of the World Championship and huge, enthusiastic hordes are expected for the second week.

U.S. Jumping team third after Speed round, day one (2)

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August 19, 2026

By SARA CAVANAGH

 AACHEN, Germany--The U.S. Jumping team finished a great third in round one, the Speed, at the World Championship on Wednesday, Aug. 19.

Laura Kraut on Baloutinue (Photo by Allen MacMillan)But the competition is incredibly close, with the top six teams all within less than a rail of each other and the top 51 riders within a rail of each other

In the Speed class, faults were converted to seconds, with every rail down adding four faults to a rider's time.

Laura Kraut on Baloutinue was first to go for the U.S., going sixth of the 145 riders, and finished clean in 72.72 to eventually place 11th individually.

McLAIN WARD on High Star Hero was next to go for the U.S. and finished in the second fastest time of the day, but he had a rail down to finish on 75.83, 33rd individually.

Lillie Keenan on Fasther (Photo by Allen MacMillan)Lillie Keenan on Fasther was clean in 72.94 to eventually finish 14th individually.

Katie Dinan on Out of the Blue had two rails down to score 92.41, 121st individually.

After the class, under a complicated mathematical conversion, time was converted to faults.

Julien Epaillard of France on Fringan de Vesquerie leads on zero faults, with Harrie Smolders of Netherlands on Mr. Tac second on .68 and Scott Brash of Great Britain on Hello Mango third on .80.

Kraut is on 1.05, Keenan on 1.17, Ward on 2.62 and Dinan on 10.91.

For the teams, Germany leads on 3.48, Belgium is second on 5.59.the U.S. is third on 4.85, Great Britain is fourth on 4.98, France is fifth on 44.99 and Netherlands is sixth on 5.08. 

"I'm just absolutely thrilled," said Kraut. "Baloutinue just couldn't have been better. He did everything I told him to do, he reacted beautifully to everything."

McLain Ward on High Star Hero (Photo by Allen MacMillan)"I just wish I was a couple seconds quicker, but I think starting off the day, I rode to my plan and I'm just really happy.

"Definitely it's a very open galloping course, which I wouldn't say is normally, my horse's forte. He's really quick at turning, but I thought he handled it great. 

"I'm just so proud of him because we've called him in in the 11th hour. He loves Aachen. So, actually, from the start of the year, I always felt that I had two number one horses, and obviously, we were going with Bisquetta because she was younger. And she also loves this ring, But she had a tiny injury. I would think that I'm probably the only person in the world who has a reserve that's as good as this one. 

"I was a little bit tentative about going so early in the round, but even after watching 140 rounds, I wouldn't do one thing different. So I'm pleased," said Kraut.

"If I didn't have that unlucky poll at the end, I would be near the lead, but the horse performed great, that was a solid round," said Ward. "I'm very happy with him.

"The course seems pretty open and galloping for a first class like this. I have a great regard for Frank Rothenberger, not only for how he's built throughout his whole career, but this is a challenge. You know, 150 horses on turf and a wide level of riders, plus a little bit of rain in the air, so I don't think it's an easy class to build. He seems to have done a good job, I think the ground was spectacular. 

"I started our partnership right after the Paris Olympics, but over the last year, we've really built a great relationship," said Ward of High Star Hero. "He's a wonderful animal, beyond obviously being a great athlete. He has a sweet nature. He's just a great guy."

"We're in the top five, so we're within shooting distance, which is what the plan was," said chef d'equipe Robert Ridland. "So, the hope is that we have plenty left in the tank. It's a long slog, we've got tomorrow, and then the next day, the jumps get bigger."

"The horse's all look good," said Ridland. "I'm pretty happy about that." 

While the order of go for the teams was drawn for the Speed, the chef d'equipes could decide the order of their riders,

For tomorrow's round, the teams will go in reverse order of scores, and the chef d'equipes can again decide the order of the riders, changing it from the Speed if they want. 

It seemed most of the teams opted to have their best or fastest riders go first for their team.

"We felt that it would be better for the ones that we thought would be faster, McLean and Laura in particularly, but Lily as well, to go earlier," said Ridland.

"It's a championship, a major Championship, it happens every four years and it's Aachen on top of that, so for us, it's very important," said Ridland. "Yes, we're already qualified for Los Angeles, but that's not the reason we're here. We always aim to be on the podium and for that we're going to give it our best shot."

Marie Vonderheyden won gold in Para Grand Prix Test A - Grade 1 (2)

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August 19, 2026

By Staff Writers

AACHEN, Germany--Marie Vonderheyden of Wellington, Fla., on Fan Tastico H won the individual gold medal in the FEI Para Grand Prix Test A - Grade I.

Marie Vonderheyden on Fan Tastico H (Photo by Sarah Miller forMacMillan Photo)Vanderheyden scored 76.709 to win over Mari Durward-Akhurst of Great Britain on Athene Lindebjerg, who won the silver medal on 74.542, and Sara Morganti of Italy on Bond Girl 18, who won the bronze on 74.459.

“I stayed organized in my head—it helps me be more accurate,” Vonderheyden said. "Fan Tastico is a super nice person. And, yes, I say person because that’s what I feel with him. He is very super.”

 “They are really starting to come together,” said Chef d’Equipe Michel Assouline of Vonderheyden and Fan Tastico H. “They are definitely on an upward trend, and it's lovely to see them getting a high score"

"Overall, we had a good day,” said Assouline. “Sport is sport—you don't always win everything. We have combinations with known horses and the progression varies a little bit from time to time.”

Vonderheyden and Fan Tastico H have been partnered together for just over a year and are making their championship debut together in Aachen. 

SIX TIME Paralympian Rebecca Hart of Wellington, Fla., on Floratina scored 73.900% to place fourth in the Para Grand Prix Test A - Grade III.

Hart has an impressive record, highlighted by three gold medals at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.

Returning to the world stage with Floratina made the moment particularly meaningful for Hart.

“The entire experience of representing our country again and going down the centerline with my partner is a magical moment,” said Hart.

Fiona Howard of Boston, Mass., on Diamond Dunes has equally as impressive accolades as Hart, and also placed fourth in the FEI Para Grand Prix Test A - Grade II, scoring a 75.000%.

“He has risen to every challenge I have thrown at him,” Howard said. “We didn't have our best ride out there today, but I couldn't fault this horse. He put his heart out there and I'm so proud of him.”

The U.S. Para Dressage Team continues with competition tomorrow with Kate Shoemaker of Wellington, Fla. on Vianne competing at 9:24 a.m., which is 3:24 a.m. ET for their FEI Para Grand Prix Test A - Grade IV.

Kate Shoemaker wins gold in Para Dressage (2)

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August 20, 2026

By SARA CAVANAGH

AACHEN, Germany--Kate Shoemaker on Vianne won the gold medal in Para Dressage Grade IV, setting a new world record of 78.889% and winning by over four points.

Kate Shoemaker on Vianne (Photo by Sarah Miller for MacMillan Photo)Anna-Lena Niehues of Germany on Vive l'Amour won the silver medal on 774.639, and Nicola Naylor of reat Britain on Humberto L won bronze on 73.639 in her World Championship debut..

"It's exciting to win medals, but what we're doing this for is for our partnership with the horse," said Shoemaker. "The medal is just the icing on the cake, but the most important thing is the horse."

 “The entire test felt harmonious, and that was the one thing I wanted,” said Shoemaker in her second FEI World Championship appearance. “I wasn't thinking about points, or scores, or medals, I was thinking, ‘How can I show this very special horse to the best of our ability today?’”

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U.S. second in Team Jumping before Final Round on Friday (2)

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August 20, 2026

By SARA CAVANAGH

AACHEN, Germany--The U.S.Jumping team moved up to second in Team Jumping with three clean rounds in Round One on Thursday, Aug. 20 following the Speed class Wednesday at the World Championship.

Laura Kraut on Baloutinue (Photo by Allen MacMillan)Germany, with all four team members, Marcus Ehning, Sophie Hinners, Daniel Deusser and Richie Vogel, going clean, leads on 3.48 faults, the U.S. is second on 4.85, and Belgium and Italy are tied for third on 7.69.

The top 10 teams qualified for Friday's final round under the lights.

Great Britain is fifth on 8.98, France is sixth on 8.99, Sweden, with four clean rounds, moved up to seventh on 9.64, Switzerland, with three clean rounds, moved up to eighth on 10.49, Denmark is ninth on 11.57, and Ireland just squeaked in with 11.69 faults.

“SO FAR, so good,” German Chef d’Equipe Otto Becker said. “All four horses jumped very, very well. But as we always say, the other nations are very close, so you’d better have no faults.”

Katherine Dinan on Out of the Blue SCF (Photo by Allen MacMillan)"Sensational," said chef d'equipe Robert Ridland. "Three clean rounds in a row, all three riders were fantastic."

Laura Kraut on Baloutinue was clean, followed by Katie Dinan on Out of the Blue SCF and Lillie Keenan on Fasther, while McLain Ward had four faults on High Star Hero.

"I think Baloutinue is jumping better than ever," said Ridland. "Katie made an incredible comeback, and Lillie pulled one off. She fought her way through a clean round."

"I'm just thrilled," said Kraut. "Baloutinue is just a horse of a lifetime. He didn't know he was going to the World Championship. He was my reserve horse, but he came in and has been just unbelievable."

"My round felt great," said Kraut. "I typically add strides with him. Not many people were doing what I did,  but he does it so well. He was foot perfect."

"I wasn't nervous before the round but apprehensive," she said. "I've been in this sport for so long that you know just what can go wrong, So you're trying not to focus on that but instead trying to focus on how to make it correctly."

Lillie Keenan on Fasther (Photo by Allen MacMillan)"Yesterday was not good," said Dinan, who had two rails down in the Speed. "I made riding mistakes. I'm so happy I could come back today and have a clean round for the U.S."

"Yesterday, I know what my mistake was," she said. "So I had to focus on today, make a plan, and ride her like I know I can."

"My horse is phenomenal," said Dinan. "After the first two fences, she was right there with me. I just had to give her the guidance she needs, We were both fighting for a clean round."

"Fasther jumped fantastic for me," said Keenan. "But he definitely challenged me in places."

Keenan said she knew today would be difficult because riding Fasther after a speed round can be challenging,

"I had to be a little creative and trust the partnership." she said."After the combination, I had planned to do seven, but I did six instead. When he jumped out of the combination, he gave me such a big move that I had to move up a stride, and then I didn't have such rideability."

McLain Ward on High Star Hero (Photo by Allen MacMillan)"He knows big moments, I can feel that in him," said Keenan. "He reminded me of how special he is in every way, he's just the best."

"Any time you get to ride for your country, it''s an incredible feeling and opportunity." said Keenan.

Individually, Scott Brash of GreatBritain on Hello Mango, moved into first place after another clear round to remain on 0.80 penalties.

Sophie Hinners of Germany is second with Iron Dames Singclair on 0.84, while Steve Guerdat of Switzerland, riding Dynamix de Belheme, and Daniel Deusser  of Germany on Otello de Guldenboom, share third on 0.86.

Kraut is sixth on 1.06, Keenan is ninth on 1.17, and Ward is 56th on 6.62.

I’m delighted with Mango. I thought she jumped incredible,” Brash said. “She felt a little bit more tense in the warm-up today because there was more atmosphere, but when she went in the ring she was absolutely fantastic.”

The team final is tomorrow, Friday, at 2:15 and can be seen on clipMyHorse.

Fiona Howard and Marie Vonderheyden win in Para Dressage (2)

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August 21, 2026

By SARA CAVANAGH

AACHEN, Germany--Fiona Howard and Marie Voneheyden won in Grade II and Grade I respectively, while Rebecca Hart finished fifth in Grade III for the team to be fourth after day one of team competition in the World Championship on Friday, Aug.21.

Fiona Howard on Diamond Dunes(Photo by Kim MacMillan)But Kate Shoemaker,, who set a world record in her test Thursday, has still to go for a team score, while the three teams currently ahead of them, Singapore, Czechia and Hong Kong, have completed their team scores.

Howard on Diamond Dunes scored 79.300 to win by three over Heidemaie Dresing of Germany on 77.733, and Vonderheyden on FanTastico H scored 76.375 to win over Mari Durward-Akhurst of Great Britain on 74.583, while Hart on Floratine scored 73.533 for fifth in her section. 

"Diamond Dunes felt great today," said Howard "From the first shot around the outside of the arena, he was like, I'm ready for this, and he really just put his whole heart in. I'm just so proud of him and so happy that we could do this for the team. Just really, really delighted with him. He's one in a million." 

"I HAVE my good friend Terry Buckmiller here, who also was the surgeon that saved my life in 2019," she said.. "So it's also a super special to be able to do this like with her here, and enjoy this experience with her because I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for her.

Marie Vonderheyden on Fan tastico H (Photo by Kim MacMillan)"So it's a very special championship for me, to be able to put down that ride today with her here, and my parents are here, too.

"He has a wonderful trot and walk but his walk is really a big walk," said Howard. "Really, he doesn't have a weak spot,  I'm the one that's got to make sure that I ride him well enough so that he can show his best ability and all the movements because like he's great at everything."

"With USA not being one of the teams that has to chase qualification for L.A , it's the pressure offer, but will we still be gunning for for the gold medal? I think yes, that's obvious.

I think as a team we're all competitive, but we also really want each other to succeed," said Howard. We really support each other and we put so much work into this that we we all want to fight for those medals. 

Riders in Grade !! have either a severe impairment of the trunk and minimal impairment of the upper limbs or moderate impairment of the trunk, upper and lower limbs. Most athletes in this grade use a wheelchair in daily life.

"Fan Tastico was very good," said Vonderheyden. 

She said she felt she needed to kick her horse to make him go on.

"it's hard for me because the the all the coaches are asking me to not do it," Vonderheyden said. "But I need to to ask him to go for it."

"I'm so happy, I don't know what can I say." she said of her score that will count hopefully to a team medal. "I love that as well, helping the others."

Riders in Grade I have severe impairments affecting all limbs and trunk. The athlete usually requires the use of a wheelchair. They may be able to walk with an unsteady gait. Trunk and balance are severely impaired.

“We are very fortunate to have strong combinations across all Grades here in Aachen,” said Chef d’Equipe Michel Assouline. “Today’s tests proved that, with high marks across the board. We are looking forward to tomorrow and chasing a place on the medal podium, but overall, I could not be more pleased with the consistency that we have seen all week from our athletes.”

U.S Driving team third after dressage, Chester Weber leads (2)

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August 21, 2026

By SARA CAVANAGH

AACHEN, Germany--The U.S. Driving Team is in third place at the FEI Driving World Championship for Four-in-Hands after the dressage phase on Friday, Aug. 21. 

Chester Weber (Photo by Sarah Miller for acMillan Photo)Chester Weber, with his team of Dutch harness horses, Julius V, Kadora, Amadeus and Nico Teusje C, broke his own World Championship Dressage record, scoring 30.40 to put him in first place overnight.

Fairclough, a six time competitor at the World Championships, finished on 60.83 ti be the drop score, while Taren Lester, who competed Thursday, finished on 51.44 for a team score of 81.84.

"What a fantastic team of horses.and what a fantastic team of people," said Weber. "Really, score of 30, I said this morning, it can be a record."

"It's humbling to sit here," Weber said. "The Lord was with me today. I'm a man of faith. For the extended trot, I thought, wow, they're doing it correctly, and they not even running." 

“I'VE HAD most of them as young horse,"he said. "The two lead horses I've had since they were 3 and 4. The left wheel horse I’ve also had as a young horse, he was actually a COVID purchase on Facebook."

“The right wheel horse is super special and has a huge piece of my heart, " said Weber of Amadeus. “He's 21 years of age, and he went to Windsor and Live Oak this year. It's always been our plan to have him ready for Aachen. He is in super, super form. It’s nice to have that PhD-level knowledge from a horse right next to you.”

Looking ahead to Saturday, Weber said the Marathon course, “has different obstacles, different questions. It will be all about courage, power, and speed.”

During a rainy day of competition, Fairclough said, “Aachen always has a lot of atmosphere. The rain got a little slippery, but it was a nice test.”

The German team of Christoph Sandmann, 44.78, Anna Mareike Meier, 40.99, and Anna Sandmann, 38.32, lead in team standings on 79.31, with the Australian team of Tor van den Berge, 49.31, and Boyd Excell, 31,88, second on 81.17.

Australia’s Boyd Exell is second individually on 31.88

The seven-time World Champion has set himself the goal of claiming his eighth title here in Aachen.

“The atmosphere is truly magnificent," said Exell. "It was wonderful to experience the enthusiastic crowd cheering ecstatically.”

The Belgian driver, Dries Degrieck, who completed his dressage test Thursday, is third on 38.19, and Anna Sandmann finished fourth as the best German competitor. 

The U.S. Driving team and individual Jean Thornton will drive Saturday in the Marathon phase, which will begin at 11:00 a.m., which is 5:00 a.m. ET

JJ Torano won the U25 Speed at the World Championship (2)

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August 21, 2026

By SARA CAVANAGH

AACHEN, Germany--JJ Torano on Lyon 50 jumped a fantastic clean round to win the U25 Speed on Friday, Aug. 21 at the World Championship.

Jj Torano on Lyon 50 (Photo by Allen MacMillan)That evening, the U.S Jumping team of Laura Kraut on Baloutinue, Katie Dinan on Out of the Blue, Lille Keenan on Fasther and McLain Ward on High Star Hero finished fourth in Team Jumping - full story to come tomorrow.

Torano, at just 16 years old, made his first ever trip to Aachen an unbelievable experience by winning in Aachen’s main stadium.

He finished clean in 63.96 to win over Germany’s Max Paschertz on Foodfox' Cathilde H in 64.43 with Luiz Felipe Neto de Azevedo of Brazil on Granit de las Mure third in 65.80 in the class of 39 riders 25 and under that qualified to compete in the first ever U25 competition at a World Championship.

“That was so much fun,” said Torano. “There's no better place to win than Aachen. When we heard about this opportunity obviously we jumped at it. We came looking to win today.”

“IT'S A DIFFERENT feeling than any other ring, and I was a little nervous, but I tend to do better when I'm a little nervous," he said. "Lyon's an unbelievable horse and was with me for every stride out there,” 

“Whatever the challenge, he rises to it and gives it his all,” said Torano of Lyon 50, the stallion he has ridden on for two years. “He has a huge heart, and he also wants to win.”

Torano had his first experience of hearing the U.S. National Anthem in an international competition, something that, with his talent, is apt to happen many times again.

“I think the prize giving and victory lap was almost more fun than actually jumping," saidTorano. "The crowd, the atmosphere, it’s amazing out there. It’s such a great opportunity.”

Olivia Sweetnam also qualified for the U25 and went to Aachen, but her horse didn't pass the first horse inspection, so she wasn't able to compete.

Saturday's class is a team competition in which, as there are only maximum two riders from each country, riders from different countries will join to make the teams, and it will begin at 10:15 a.m. Eastern.

The NetAachen-Prize Grand Prix for U25 is Sunday at 4:30 a.m. Eastern.