2024 29er European Championships at Gdynia, Poland - Day 2
by International 29er Class 5 Jul 2024 22:33 AEST
1-8 July 2024
2024 29er European Championships at Gdynia, Poland Day 2 © International 29er Class
As the second day of 29er European Championships closes, it's the French team of Nolann Huet Des Aunay and Titouan Gresset who remain on the top of the leaderboard overnight.
Summing up their day after racing: "We like shifty wind, so even though the conditions aren't the easiest we are happy with them. In our home city La Baule we have a pretty similar venue, so we came here well prepared."
The FRA 3425 team managed to win four out of six races conducted today. When not first, they secured a second and sixth position.
"Our target is to be fast and secure the first position. For the moment we don't have one true rival, the person we are competing with most changes every race. The real fight with one team will probably begin in the finals," said the leaders.
Second place overall belongs currently to an Italian team. After managing to secure first places in all three races, Alex Demurtas and Giovanni Santi place themselves just two points behind regatta leaders. What's important to note is that the top two teams sail in different fleets and haven't had the chance to compete directly yet.
"Today was quite different from yesterday, with a big shift in wind direction from west to east. This caused some difficulties and changes in our racing. Unfortunately, today wasn't our best day, but despite that we still managed to keep our top 3 position. All of the teams competing here are very strong, so the competition is really good. The top 10 teams are on a very similar level to us, which keeps it interesting.", summed up the Italians.
Polish team Bartosz Zmudzinski and August Sobczak are also leaders of the U17 group. It was a successful day for them, as they won two races and came in second in the third.
"Today was a great day for us. The conditions were very merciful to all Polish teams, as a peculiar and tough wave has appeared. It came in quick and high sequences, which made sailing very difficult for people who are not familiar with it. Lucikly for us this is a pretty common wave here, so we were prepared and knew exactly how to deal with it" said the team.
Mix teams category is led by Ewa Lewandowska and Krzysztof Królik whereas in women Alicja Tutkowska and Alicja Dampc take provisional pole position overnight.
Friday marks the end of qualifying for all 138 teams, who currently race in four equal fleets. On Saturday all 25 competing nations will partake in the final series. The fleet will be divided into Gold, Silver, Bronze and Emerald for the remainder of the regatta here in the spectacular port of Gdynia and the European Champions will be determined on Monday 8th July.
Find out more at 29ereuropeans.org