Top contenders extend their lead on Day 3 of the HydroFoil Pro Tour

by Robbie Dean on 20 Aug 2016 Another five races have been completed in picture perfect conditions on the island paradise of Mauritius, bringing the race-count to fourteen thus far. The competitors with true grit will find themselves at the top.

These athletes have been going their hardest for three days or more. Those that showed up early for training at the venue have logged over two hundred miles of hydrofoil sailing in less than a week. The ability to simply endure this kind of challenge is something worthy of a medal. These Pro Tour races are four miles long as the crow flies but each sailor must go nearly double that distance to navigate themselves up and down the course through the windshifts and tidal currents.

Full speed, full power, pushing with your legs and arms against giant kite wings and high performance hydrofoils. Nevermind the crashes at 30knots of speed. Nevermind the occasional tangle with a fellow racer. Even if everything was to go exactly your way in the long series of races you’re still going to be absolutely thrashed, no matter how much time you’ve spent in the gym and in training. The breakfast and dinner buffet at the Preskil Beach Resort, demolished! A quick stretch and a good night’s sleep couldn’t come any sooner.

Nico Parlier (France) had lined up a perfect series until today and he probably didn’t expect that the ending of his streak would be delivered in such a way.

“I sailed over to the VIP boat (a large catamaran) to say hi to some people and get a drink of water in between races. All of the sudden I felt no tension on my lines and I looked up and… oh no.” The kite had become tangled with the top of the mast and Nico had to miss Race 13 while he got it untangled. Just goes to show that even the near-perfect sailors have their very difficult moments of strife at these events. Parlier scoffed, “a rookie move”. He still maintains a sizable lead over his rivals and looks to be on his way to another regatta victory.

In Nico’s absence it was Olly Bridge (Great Britain) who took the win in Race 13 and scored all five races in the top three today. Bridge has extended his lead over the other Youth Division sailors and in addition moved himself up to third position in the overall ranking. Marvin Baumeister (Germany) also extended his lead in the Masters Division and now has a sizable lead over his nearest competitor, kite speed world record holder Alex Caizergues (France). Daniela Moroz (USA) gapped out front of the Ladies group and Richard Bates (New Zealand) stays just in front of Jean Pierre Valesa (France) in the Grandmasters Division.

The forecast for tomorrow’s finale is for a bit of lighter wind. This change in the weather the could offer some mixed results as the light-wind specialists hope to climb the ranks against the others. Stay tuned to our media channels to get all of the live news as well as in depth interviews, full length race video edits, and highlight videos showcasing this fantastic sport of kiteboard hydrofoil racing.



Mens
1. Nico Parlier – 12pts
2. Johnny Heineken – 30pts
3. Oliver Bridge – 33pts
4. Maxime Nocher – 41pts
5. Axel Mazella – 50pts

Female
1. Daniela Moroz – 196pts
2. Elena Kalinina – 246pts
3. Gina Hewson – 298.8pts

Youth
1. Oliver Bridge – 33pt
2. Axel Mazella – 50pts
3. Tiouan Galea – 77pt
4. Jean De Falbaire – 96pts
5. Theo Lhostis – 122pts

Masters
1. Marvin Baumeister – 114.5pts
2. Alex Caizergues – 151pts
3. Benjamin Petit – 167pts
4. Kari Eisenhut – 232pts
5. Gina Hewson – 298.8pts

Grand Master
1. Richard Bates – 304pts
2. Jean-Pierre Valesa – 312pts
3. Phillip Rowlands – 348.4pts
4. Jan Patrick – 350pts
5. Remi Deahaye – 378pts