Pieter Devos wins the first Grand Prix of Cairo beneath the Pyramids as Abdel Saïd is crowned champion
Belgium’s Pieter Devos and Casual DV Z win the Longines Global Champions Tour 5* Grand Prix of Cairo ahead of Olivier Philippaerts (Hipster SV) and Ben Maher (Point Break). Abdel Saïd is crowned 2026 champion.
Belgium’s Pieter Devos and his mare Casual DV Z won the first Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix held in Cairo on Saturday 24 October, beneath the Pyramids of Giza. They finished 0.46 seconds ahead of fellow Belgian Olivier Philippaerts, riding Hipster SV, and 0.72 seconds ahead of Great Britain’s Ben Maher, third with Point Break. Thirteenth in the Grand Prix, Abdel Saïd was crowned 2026 champion of the Tour with one stage still to go.
On its first visit to Egypt, the Longines Global Champions Tour set up its arena facing the Pyramids from 22 to 24 October. The penultimate stage of the season, Cairo hosted a CSI 5* 1.60 m Grand Prix with €1,000,000 in prize money, presented by Tatweer.
Forty combinations started and twelve finished the first round without penalties. The fastest of them, Germany’s Christian Kukuk, stopped the clock in 72.66 with Checker 47. Abdel Saïd was quicker (72.28), but his four faults kept him out of the jump-off. In front of his home crowd, Egypt’s Nayel Nassar finished fourteenth with Esi Ali, also on four faults.
A win by a whisker
Over the shortened course, Pieter Devos and Casual DV Z produced a double clear in 45.85. Olivier Philippaerts and Hipster SV were 0.46 seconds slower, in 46.31. Last to go according to the organisers, Ben Maher had victory within reach, but Point Break stopped the clock in 46.57. "I just slightly misjudged it," the British rider admitted.
The fastest jump-off time actually belonged to Christian Kukuk: 45.36, but with eight faults, which dropped him to tenth place. Seven combinations jumped double clear. Niels Bruynseels, fourth with Oaky Flandria in 48.82, completed a strong Belgian showing, ahead of Germany’s Marco Kutscher (Pikeur Lemar NRW), Portugal’s Duarte Seabra (Dourados 2) and Qatar’s Bassem Mohammed (Wathnan Rocket Man).
"I am a bit overwhelmed to be honest," Pieter Devos told GCTV. According to him, his mare had already finished on the podium of six 5* Grands Prix this season. "We bred her ourselves with our family, we did the whole journey with Casual from foal right through now." The Belgian recalled that his first Grand Prix win on the Tour came in Shanghai, also on the Tour’s first visit to that city.
His second place qualifies Olivier Philippaerts for the Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix at the GC Playoffs in Verona next month.
The podium horses
- Casual DV Z: 11-year-old bay mare by Cornet Obolensky out of a mare by Cicero Z van Paemel, owned by Devos Stables. She was bred by Pieter Devos’s family.
- Hipster SV: 10-year-old grey gelding by Corporal VDL out of a mare by Cornetto, owned by Team Philippaerts, Johan Lenssens and Patrick Lenssens.
- Point Break: 12-year-old bay stallion by Action-Breaker out of a mare by Balou du Rouet, owned by Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright.
Abdel Saïd champion before Rabat
Leading the standings on arrival in Cairo, Abdel Saïd finished thirteenth in the Grand Prix with Wathnan Bonne Amie. According to the organisers, the result earned him 24 points and took his total to 245: a lead that his closest rival, Germany’s Christian Ahlmann (224 points), can no longer overturn at the final stage in Rabat, from 30 October to 1 November. "I still can’t believe it, to be honest. In my mind, I knew it would go to the last leg in Rabat," the Belgian said.
The 2026 Longines Global Champions Tour standings after Cairo:
- Abdel Saïd (Belgium), 245 points, 2026 champion
- Christian Ahlmann (Germany), 224 points
- Max Kühner (Austria), 208 points
- Olivier Philippaerts (Belgium), 200 points
- Simon Delestre (France), 199.67 points
The French riders and Victor Bettendorf
The only French rider in the jump-off, Simon Delestre finished eleventh with Gatsby du Tillard: eight faults in 47.19. Ines Joly (Faylinn de Fondcombe) was seventeenth on four faults, and Antoine Ermann (Jiamo VDS) thirty-fifth.
The only Luxembourg rider in the field, Victor Bettendorf retired with Qwando van de Rispen, a 10-year-old chestnut gelding. He lies eighteenth in the Tour standings with 141 points.
Full results
The 36 placed combinations, followed by the four non-placed. Prize money went to the twelve jump-off riders.
| Rank | Rider | Country | Horse | Round 1 | Time | Jump-off | Time | Prize money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pieter Devos | Belgium | Casual DV Z | 0 | 75.01 | 0 | 45.85 | €330,000 |
| 2 | Olivier Philippaerts | Belgium | Hipster SV | 0 | 73.46 | 0 | 46.31 | €200,000 |
| 3 | Ben Maher | Great Britain | Point Break | 0 | 73.86 | 0 | 46.57 | €150,000 |
| 4 | Niels Bruynseels | Belgium | Oaky Flandria | 0 | 75.65 | 0 | 48.82 | €100,000 |
| 5 | Marco Kutscher | Germany | Pikeur Lemar NRW | 0 | 74.00 | 0 | 49.83 | €60,000 |
| 6 | Duarte Seabra | Portugal | Dourados 2 | 0 | 76.30 | 0 | 50.16 | €45,000 |
| 7 | Bassem Mohammed | Qatar | Wathnan Rocket Man | 0 | 77.47 | 0 | 50.37 | €30,000 |
| 8 | Emanuele Camilli | Italy | Chacareno PS | 0 | 76.10 | 1 | 52.09 | €25,000 |
| 9 | Max Kühner | Austria | Vivo de Muze PS | 0 | 74.94 | 3 | 54.54 | €20,000 |
| 10 | Christian Kukuk | Germany | Checker 47 | 0 | 72.66 | 8 | 45.36 | €20,000 |
| 11 | Simon Delestre | France | Gatsby du Tillard | 0 | 74.51 | 8 | 47.19 | €10,000 |
| 12 | Emanuele Gaudiano | Italy | Chabrello PS | 0 | 74.16 | 8 | 51.40 | €10,000 |
| 13 | Abdel Saïd | Belgium | Wathnan Bonne Amie | 4 | 72.28 | — | — | — |
| 14 | Nayel Nassar | Egypt | Esi Ali | 4 | 72.68 | — | — | — |
| 15 | Abdulrahman Alrajhi | Saudi Arabia | Lorenzo ES | 4 | 73.17 | — | — | — |
| 16 | Maximilian Weishaupt | Germany | Zuccero HV | 4 | 73.43 | — | — | — |
| 17 | Ines Joly | France | Faylinn de Fondcombe | 4 | 73.80 | — | — | — |
| 18 | Eduardo Menezes | Brazil | H5 Londontime | 4 | 73.87 | — | — | — |
| 19 | Johan-Sebastian Gulliksen | Norway | Equine America Harwich VDL | 4 | 74.13 | — | — | — |
| 20 | Thibault Philippaerts | Belgium | Lyandro MDB | 4 | 74.47 | — | — | — |
| 21 | Oliver Lazarus | South Africa | Conbalthago PS | 4 | 74.68 | — | — | — |
| 22 | Daniel Deusser | Germany | Otello de Guldenboom | 4 | 75.00 | — | — | — |
| 22 | Sophie Hinners | Germany | Iron Dames Combella | 4 | 75.00 | — | — | — |
| 24 | Zoe Hank Conter | Belgium | H5 Chaccophanie | 4 | 75.41 | — | — | — |
| 25 | Efe Siyahi | Turkey | Cantate | 4 | 75.42 | — | — | — |
| 26 | Cian O’Connor | Ireland | Chatolinue PS | 4 | 75.77 | — | — | — |
| 27 | Marcus Ehning | Germany | Coolio 42 | 4 | 76.04 | — | — | — |
| 28 | Geir Gulliksen | Norway | Island V G | 5 | 78.05 | — | — | — |
| 29 | Jack Whitaker | Great Britain | Jack JL | 8 | 74.67 | — | — | — |
| 30 | Thibeau Spits | Belgium | Rozelien Dwerse Hagen | 8 | 74.74 | — | — | — |
| 31 | Carlos Hank Guerreiro | Mexico | H5 Origi Horta | 8 | 75.30 | — | — | — |
| 32 | Guido Grimaldi | Italy | Gentleman | 8 | 76.02 | — | — | — |
| 33 | Deirdre Reilly | Ireland | Derryglen Othello | 9 | 78.59 | — | — | — |
| 34 | Andreas Schou | Denmark | Napoli vh Nederassenthof | 12 | 74.39 | — | — | — |
| 35 | Antoine Ermann | France | Jiamo VDS | 13 | 78.43 | — | — | — |
| 36 | Sheikh Ali Khalid Al Thani | Qatar | Marco Monet | 21 | 78.77 | — | — | — |
| – | Denis Lynch | Ireland | Vistogrand | Retired | — | — | — | — |
| – | Sameh El Dahan | Egypt | Oscar-A | Eliminated | — | — | — | — |
| – | Jorge Matte Capdevila | Chile | Kinmar Bespoke | Eliminated | — | — | — | — |
| – | Victor Bettendorf | Luxembourg | Qwando van de Rispen | Retired | — | — | — | — |
Pieter Devos takes home €330,000 out of total prize money of €1,000,000.
Source: Communiqué de presse du Longines Global Champions Tour