Riding 12-year-old Mary Lou 194, von Eckermann recorded a time of 69.07sec with no faults in the normal round to secure his place in the jump-off.

The 36-year-old then put in an excellent performance in the jump-off, registering a time of 36.89, again with no faults, to emerge triumphant.

"When I saw the jump-off course I knew it would suit Mary Lou," von Eckermann said.

"You can totally trust her, you don’t need to take a pull anywhere, just let her run and use her pace and her long stride, and she was fantastic again today."

Belgium’s Olivier Philippaerts, riding 12-year-old H&M Legend of Love, secured the silver medal with a jump-off time of 37.42 with Great Britain’s Michael Whitaker, an Olympic silver medallist as long ago as Los Angeles 1984 and four-time European Championship winner, finishing in third thanks to a time of 37.52 on 12-year-old JB’s Hot Stuff.

Today's result means von Eckermann goes top of the overall standings with a points total of 84, overtaking France's Kevin Staut who sits in second on 79.