French rookie steps up to prevent royal sweep by Emirates trio

A rookie Frenchwoman from a small town near Bordeaux broke the hearts of thousands of home fans at the International Endurance City when she prevented a clean sweep of the top three places at the World Championships by riders from the United Arab Emirates.

Barabara Lissarrague, a 38-year-old mother of two, mounted a surprisingly strong challenge on her mare Georgat to steal second place from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the crown prince of Dubai. The race was won by Sheikh Hazza bin Sultan Al Nahyan with fourth place going to another UAE rider, Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Lissarrague made her move after the fifth of six stages when she caught the three leading royals and turned the final 19km of the 160km race into a sprint to the finish.

'My horse felt really powerful so I let her run freely. When I caught up with the leading riders, Sheikh Mohammed looked me in eye and said, 'Let's go. Let's make a race of it'. I was really surprised that he spoke to me. He is a real sportsman - highly competitive but fair.

'When I got past Sheikh Mohammed, I was thrilled. But the leader was too far ahead and I could not catch him.'

Sheikh Mohammed was magnanimous in defeat: 'Anything could have happened in the final 19km with the French lady very much in the race. Yet we were three against one and I had to sacrifice speed to settle for a chance of a team medal,' he said.