Day 3 saw some riveting Gold fleet racing! A longer starting line, a slalom finish and lighter wind, definitely lifted the drama as the riders took things up a level! The race committee decided to switch things up today, choosing to run a slalom-finish course, opening the door for multiple leader changes throughout the duration of the race. Unfortunately the wind was not there to stay for the duration of the day, so only three of todays scheduled four races were completed, although the race committee attempted to run the fourth later in the day.
Port starts galore!
French rider Chloe Revil set the tone of the day, with an extraordinary port start, crossing the girls’ fleet with plenty of room to spare. This inspired multiple port start action, some successful and some unsuccessful! Riccardo Pianosi and Jis Van Hees were joined by up and coming Swiss youth talent Gianandrea Stragiotti and Karl Maeder for another comfy port start! “I saw it from the beginning already that it was pin end favoured, so I made the decision to fully commit!” says Karl Maeder, very content with his decision, which paid off delivering an impressive 5th place finish in Gold fleet for the fast progressing young rider.
Sharing out the bullets in the girls fleet
Heloise Pegourie (FRA) delivered the first bullet of the day for the girls fleet but finished fourth in the other two races.
.Compatriot Lysa Caval, who claimed the second bullet of the day,
Magda Woyciechowska (POL) made a series of good calls throughout the complicated day, resulting in an impressively consistent scoreline. She was happy to take the final bullet of the day: The Polish rider was happy with her tactics today, managing two clean port starts.
Italy’s Riccardo Pianosi put a spanner in the works for Max Maeder maintaining an otherwise perfect scoreline. The Italian rider scored one of today’s bullets, reminiscent of his Youth European triumph against Huang earlier in the year, while Qibin Huang (CHN) showed impeccable consistency with three consecutive 2nd places.
After three races, riders were sent back to shore due to light and unstable conditions. Later in the day, the breeze picked up a bit and riders took to the water to attempt one final race but the wind didn’t stay long enough.
RESULTS MEN
1. Maximilian Maeder SGP 8 p
1. Qibin Huang CHI 10 p
3. Ricardo Pianosi ITA 14 p
RESULTS WOMEN
1. Heloise Pegourie FRA 15 p
2. Magdalena Woyciechowska POL 17 p
3. Lysa Caval FRA 18 p
