Lindberg victorious and Swedes surprise in the GKSS Spring Cup

by Fabian Bengtsson on 28 May 2013 Gothenburg May 27th: Staffan Lindberg and his Alandia Sailing Team has won an entry to Stena Match Cup Sweden after beating Danish skipper Joachim Aschenbrenner in the final of the GKSS Spring Cup. The Swedish skipper Henrik Eyerman and his crew were sensationally the only Swedes to advance from the Round Robin of the event, which gave them the Swedish qualifying ticket to Marstrand.

This weekend, the GKSS Spring Cup was sailed in perfect conditions at the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club with sun and 25 knots of wind. The regatta serves as a qualifying event for Stena Match Cup Sweden, the third stage of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour, and several top ranked teams came to battle for a entry ticket to Marstrand. After the line-up of ten teams had boiled down during the Round Robin and Winner’s Round three Danish teams and Staffan Lindberg (FIN) were left in the Semifinals. The Finish skipper lost his first match against Nicolai Sehested but came back to outmaneuver his opponent in two straight matches and secure a spot in the final. There he was put against Joachim Aschenbrenner and his Danish team, the winners of the Winner’s Round. Lindberg got off to a good start in the first match, was in control from start to finish in gusty winds, and continued with another victory in the second match - Alandia Sailing Team had won the Spring Cup and the ticket to Marstrand was theirs.

'Heading into this event, we knew that the competition was tough, that we had to perform our best to win and the whole crew has sailed perfectly; we have worked well as a team with good speed and maneuvering. It feels great heading for Marstrand and we can go there as underdogs which fits us fine', says Staffan Lindberg, the Skipper of Alandia Sailing Team.

The Swedish skipper Henrik Eyermann and his team was the big surprise of the weekend as they grabbed the Swedish qualifying spot. Eyermann, 156 on the ISAF match racing ranking, was the only Swedish skipper to advance from the Round Robin, which meant his team had secured an entry to Stena Match Cup Sweden as the best Swedes in the GKSS Spring Cup.

'It’s a dream to get to compete at Marstrand and this is a complete surprise even for us. We are really happy and excited about qualifying, things have worked well in the team and we have just kept going', says Henrik Eyermann.

The 51 year old Eyermann has never competed in a World Tour event before but he has a strong record as a sailor, with a forth place in the 1984 Olympics in the Star Class together with Kent Carlsson. Now he and his crew will be one of the twelve teams competing in the Open Class of Stena Match Cup Sweden 2013.

Alandia Sailing Team
Staffan Lindberg
Carl-Johan Uckelstam
Robert Skarp
Benny Ulvaeus
Niklas Carlzon Svedmyr

Team Henrik Eyermann
Henrik Eyermann
Mathias Lantz
Jens Alroth
Johan Nilsson
Charles Jobson

Open Clas Stena Match Cup Sweden 2013 Line-Up:
Ian Williams (GBR)
Björn Hansen (SWE)
Phil Robertson (NZL)
Keith Swinton (AUS)
Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA)
Johnie Berntsson (SWE)
Taylor Canfied (USA)
Adam Minoprio (NZL)?
Staffan Lindberg (FIN)
Henrik Eyermann (SWE)?
Wild Card One - Mathieu Richard (FRA)
Wild Card Two– To be announced

Stena Match Cup Sweden is one of Sweden’s largest public sports events and continues to grow in both sporting and media terms. It is the third stage of of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour and many of sailing’s biggest names have participated since the start in 1994. This summer, the world elite will once again return to Marstrand to compete in the Women’s Class and the Open Class of the regatta. Stena Match Cup Sweden also features a Women’s Class and the teams competing will be revealed shortly.

Stena Match Cup Sweden is sailed July first-sixth 2013 and takes place at Marstrand on the Swedish west coast.