A different sort of match race series, the Grand National du Trot, kicked off on Wednesday pitting trotters against world class cyclists
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At Hippodrome d'Amiens in France, cyclist Jimmy Casper challenged Origano Lap, driven by Pierre-Yves Verva. In front of several thousand spectators, the pair gave it their all in a 500 metre dash.
Despite his best efforts, Casper could not hold off the trotting horse who finished one length the best.
"The track was a bit soft and I lost a little ground in the turn," said Casper after the race. "I tried everything but at my every acceleration, the horse replied."
"My horse has a lot of speed and he did well to hold off Jimmy," said Verva of Origano Lap.
The challenge series will visit six different French racetracks between April and November.
Wow, what a gorgeous horse
Wow, what a gorgeous horse he is!!
You can bet an intelligent
You can bet an intelligent promotion such as this would not and will not be done in North America!
to put this in perspective;
to put this in perspective; Cycling is one of the major sports in France and PMU is "THE" sponsor of the green jersey in the TOUR (sprints during each leg of the tour), making this a logical promo for racing.
PMU has used the "Tour de France" as a major venue for the PMU brand recognition (as they have with tennis at Roland Garros).
Smart!