posted Oct 27th, 2018 - The second day of the FAI Indoor World Cup 2018 with the next four rounds turned out better for the reigning indoor and outdoor 4-way world champions, NMP PCH HayaBusa. At least, they tied the total for the day with the leader from France, Weembi Mix.

However, the 13-point difference has moved Weembi realistically completely out of reach, and the Belgians are fully aware of that. The NSL News had the opportunity to discuss the situation on Saturday with HayaBusa's inside center, David Grauwels. He said that his team knows that they will not be able to catch up with the French team in the last two rounds.

He added that HayaBusa knew that it would be even more difficult this time to fend off Weembi Mix. The last showdown at the World Challenge 2018 came at the end of the team's indoor season, and HayaBusa was much better prepared for the duel with the Weembi indoor experts.

The Belgian indoor world champions were still good sports and decided to put their indoor title of the previous world cup at risk and travel to Bahrain after a short break at home coming from Australia.

The NSL News also had a conversation with the complete Weembi Mix lineup on Saturday, and the team members showed just as good sports as HayaBusa by acknowledging the difficult situation for the Belgians.

NMP PCH HayaBusa was under great pressure in Australia, where Arizona Airspeed pushed the outdoor world champions to the limit in a 10-round thriller. Weembi Mix members Sophia Pecout and Christine Malnis competed at the FAI World Meet 2018, as well.

However, they walked away with the gold medals for Aerodyne Weembi Girls in 4-way Women, and the indirect comparison with the scores on the Open Class leaderboard was probably only inspiring.

It is still very impressive to see how Sophia Pecout and Christine Malnis melt into the Weembi Mix lineup with Julien Degen and Roy Janssen after a very similar travel and meet agenda as NMP PCH HayaBusa had it.

Weembi Mix is a trained team that met on a regular basis at Weembi Lille whenever the training and meet schedule of the Aerodyne Weembi Girls allowed it, and when Julien Degen and Roy Janssen were available, as well.

Coach Joey Jones visited the Weembi Mix training camps as often as possible, too, and he provided his input. He also made time for a live ZOOM interview on Saturday. Joey Jones paid the same respect to the difficult situation of the Belgians as the Weembi Mix members did.

FAI Indoor World Cup 2018			1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		11		Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		K,17,J,21		4,H,F,11		18,L,16		5,M,O,C		N,8,P,19		6,9,10		D,12,15		Q,B,G,22		20,E,14		7,3,2		A,19,12		Total	Avg
1	Weembi Mix MF	FR	34	-3	35		31		57		33	-2	31		30		39		-		-		-		290	36.3
2	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	35		35		27	-1	47	-3	33	-1	31		31		38	-1	-		-		-		277	34.6
3	Amnesya	IT	30		28	-1	24	-1	46		26		27		21	-2	30		-		-		-		232	29.0
4	IFS-Moscow	RU	28	-3	29		21	-3	45		26	-1	27		21	-3	33		-		-		-		230	28.8

He had a busy schedule in Bahrain where he competed with British 4-way team Eros and watched other former team mates (Dave Rodgers and William Cooke - ACM, Sian Stokes and Kate Lindsley - NFTO) competing for top positions and medals.

Weembi Mix will most likely defeat NMP PCH HayaBusa for the first time at an indoor competition since 2010 and take some pressure off the Belgian shoulders. However, the indoor world championship in March 2019 at Weembi Lille will have a higher meaning, as HayaBusa will be fully prepared for the next challenge.

It is not sure yet if Weembi Mix will be the French national team for that event. National coach Mathieu Bernier and the French federation first have to select and sanction the national lineups for the next two years.

The Weembi Mix members will put these thoughts to rest at least for another day. There is still another goal and a record that could be broken. NMP PCH HayaBusa owns the highest outdoor average in the history of the sport (27.9) together with Arizona Airspeed, while they don't share the 34.9 average at the World Challenge 2018 with anybody. Weembi Mix is standing at 36.3 after Round 8, with two slower sequences coming up. The 35.0 benchmark is in reach...