IFCA Slalom World Championship - Van Der Steen and Cousin victorious

by IFCA on 15 May 2014 The Azores IFCA Slalom World Championship 2014 officially came to a close on Sunday 11 May. Ben Van Der Steen is the new World Champion whilst Delphine Cousin is the Women's IFCA Slalom Champion.

On the final championship day, the skippers meeting was held at 09.00 as usual with the last possible start scheduled for 17:00.

The forecast and wind did not look good with competitors on standby until the next announcement at 13:00. There was no change so competitors decided it was de-rigging and packing time and looked forward to the Awards Ceremony in the evening.

After a frustrating few days Vad Der Steen was crowned World Champion with Matteo Iachino (ITA) in second and Vincent Langer (GER) in third.

France's Cousin walked away with the women's title and was followed by Lena Aylin Erdil (TUR) and Maria Andres (ESP).

Many thanks to Carlos Borges and his event committee who have provided a great event in a beautiful location; many thanks also to race director Bruno de Wannemaeker and his race committee who have spent endless hours out on the water looking for the wind. They made the best of the small window of opportunity to secure a valid championship with some spectacular nail-biting action - see the video of the Gold Final from ContinentSeven. And special thanks to all the competitors for their patience and sporting attitude in such frustrating conditions.