Delta Lloyd Regatta – Medal race time for 470 and Laser

by Delta Lloyd Regatta on 26 May 2017 An exciting Friday saw the last of the races before the medal races are sailed. The wind was a bit tricky in the morning, but Laser and 470 were able to start their races as scheduled, giving them some time before the medal races to prepare.

Preparing in the protest room

Preparing for Laser, sailors Cyprian Pavlos Kontides and Elliot Hanson (Great Britain) talk of protesting. Kontides: “Hanson was match racing me, as expected. But he made a few penalties, so I had to protest against him.” After protesting, Hanson is still leading the fleet with eight points ahead of American Charlie Buckingham. Thomas Saunders (New Zealand) had a bad day. After starting in fourth place, he ends the day in eleventh place and will not compete in the medal race.

Thrilling finals in 470

The favourites going into the 470 medal race are the Russians Pavel Sozykin and Denis Gribanov. They will secure gold if they end up in second place. Dutchies Afrodite Kyranakou and Anneloes van Veen are going into the medals in second place, and a podium finish is in sight if they keep their concentration in the medal races. Even a golden medal is possible, but this all depends of the results of the Russians.

Medal races 49erFX will guarantee some close racing

In the 49erFX is the Croatian team with Enia Nincevic and Peiar Cupac leading. They’ll compete in the medal races against three Dutch teams, three British teams, Germans, Americans and French sailors. “It’s gonna be tough, it’s top ten boats with really close racing,” said Nincevic. The preparation of the British Hannah Mills and Alain Sign didn’t go as planned, as their trapeze broke down during the last race. Sign: “It was a bit disappointing to have some gear problems, but we’re happy to be in the medal race.”

Excited for the new RS:X format

The RS:X started four hours after their planned races. We’ll find the top 12 windsurfers from the week at the starting line tomorrow, starting with zero points. The RS:X class will race with a new format: the top 12 after the fleet races will start in the quarter-final, six of them will go through to the semi-final and finally four windsurfers will battle for the podium places. Olympic champion van Rijsselberghe looks ahead: “A lot of things can happen on the last day. It’s do or die. It will be quite interesting to see what’s gonna happen.”