Airwaves Noumea PWA Tag 2

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Nach dem gestrigen, schwachen Beginn der Veranstaltung kamen die Passatwinde heute wieder zurück. Bei 20- 30 Knoten Wind wurden zwei komplette Eliminations beim Airwaves Noumea PWA Dream Cup gefahren – mit einigen Überraschungen, die massive Auswirkungen in Bezug auf die Weltmeisterschaftsergebnisse bei den Herren haben können.

Das Herren-Titelrennen war bisher, realistisch gesehen, ein Zweikampf zwischen Matteo Iachino (Fanatic / North) und Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde / Chris Benz), der bei der letzten Veranstaltung des Jahres entschieden wird. Der heutige Renntag hat aber gezeigt, wie schnell sich die Dinge im Slalom ändern können. Nun steht Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) an der Spitze der Gesamtwertung. Antoine Albeau und Matteo Iachino hatten heute beide sehr viel Pech. Antoine Albeau brachen heute  gleich 2 Masten, während der Italiener, der bisher eine sehr starke Saison fuhr, heute erstmals Nerven zeigte. Er schied in beiden Eliminations frühzeitig aus, in der ersten durch einen Navigationsfehler – er fuhr die falsche Boje an und in der zweiten durch einen Frühstart. Mindestens 7 Eliminations müssen noch gefahren werden,  um die beiden unerwartet schlechten Ergebnisse streichen zu können. Gut unterwegs auch Sebastian Kördel, (Starboard, GA Sails), leider ist er in der ersten Elimination mit Vollgas über einen Plastiksticker im Wasser gefahren und hat sich dabei überschlagen. Die zweite Elimination lief mit einem 5. Platz aber wesentlich besser. Men’s The men’s title race seemed as though it would realistically be a two-horse race between Matteo Iachino (Fanatic / North) and Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde / Chris Benz) coming into the final event of the year, but today showed how quickly things can change in the world of the slalom as the title race was turned on its head by the end of the day with Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) blitzing his way through to assume control at the top of the overall rankings.  Matteo Iachino had barely put a foot wrong so far this season, but today really wasn’t the Italian’s day as he took early exits in both of the eliminations completed. In the opening race Iachino was completely in control and seemingly cruising to victory in Heat 8, but as he went to cross the finish line he inexplicably went downwind of the finish mark and crashed out in the opening round as  Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne), Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Loft Sails / Mystic), Julien Ventalon (Starboard / Severne) and Robert Teriitehau (RRD / NeilPryde) all advanced in his place.  Iachino’s day then went from bad to worse as he jumped the gun to be disqualified in the quarterfinals of Elimination 2. After a below par performance today Iachino’s title challenge is now in tatters and his only hope is that at least 7 races are completed — allowing 2 discards, but the Italian will now be under immense pressure — knowing that any further mistakes will surely bring his world title challenge to an abrupt end.  Meanwhile, Iachino’s main rival coming into the event — Antoine Albeau — also endured a torrid day. AA was extremely unlucky in the opening elimination, suffering two broken masts right before his first round heat, and despite his best efforts Albeau couldn’t make the start line in time as he too suffered the worst possible start to the day with an early exit from Heat 4. The reigning world champion then made a slight recovery in Race 2 by finishing 11th, but he too will be looking to discard both results over the coming days in order to get his title challenge back on track. Pierre Mortefon probably couldn’t quite believe, either his luck or his eyes, after witnessing both Iachino and Albeau crash out in the first round and the Frenchman was able to take full advantage of his rivals, misfortune and mistakes, as he stole the opening bullet of the week from under the nose of Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Point-7) after an intense finish to the first final.  Mortefon then compounded his place at the top of not only the current event rankings, but also the overall rankings by the end of Day 2, as he effortlessly navigated his way into the next winners’ final, where he was able to claim 2nd place — with only Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Point-7) proving faster than him on this occasion. The 26 year old is suddenly the man that everyone else has to beat after a dramatic day in Noumea, New Caledonia. With the title race now turned on its head It will be fascinating to see the remainder of the title race plays out. The emphasis is now firmly on Iachino and Albeau to come out and perform with both sailors under the cosh. As things stand with Mortefon leading the event — Iachino will need to fight his way back into the top 5 from 40th, while Albeau requires a top 4 finish in order to deny Mortefon a maiden world title. Away from the title race Gonzalo Costa Hoevel enjoyed a fine day as he qualified for both winners’ finals. The Argentinian finished 7th in the opening elimination before producing a commanding performance in Race 2 to claim his first bullet of the season, which sees him sitting in 2nd place at the end of Day 2. The French are continuing to dominate the world of slalom and at the moment 5 of the top 10 are Frenchman — after Mortefon, Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) occupies 3rd followed by Alexandre Cousin in 4th, Antoine Questel (Starboard / GA Sails) 8th and Valentin Brault (Exocet / XO Sails) in 10th, while Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails) is right on the cusp in 11th.  Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) and Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Mystic) have both made a strong start to the event and find themselves in joint 5th come the end of the day with both sailors recording 3rd and 10th place finishes, respectively in each race. Meanwhile, last year’s event champion — Ben Van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails) — sits in 7th place, whilst the top 10 is currently completed by Mateus Isaac (Starboard / NeilPryde), who is the youngest sailor in the top 10 at just 21 years old. Women’s  Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) took a giant step towards slalom world title No.2 today as she made a solid start to the event with two 2nd places. The Aruban gem only needs a 7th place finish or better to achieve just that and after an excellent first day it looks somewhat of a formality that she will be regaining her slalom world crown for the first time since 2011 come the end of the event.  Coming into the event 4 women — Lena Erdil (Patrik / Point-7 / Mystic / AL360), Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Severne), Fulya Ünlü (Starboard / Severne) and double world champion Delphine Cousin (Starboard / Gun Sails) — were tied in joint 2nd place, but after the opening day in Noumea, it is two-time world champion, Delphine Cousin, who has taken control of a now clear 2nd place. The 24 year old had been slightly disappointing in the opening two events of 2015, but today she proved why she has earned 2 world titles with an immaculate display, which saw her claim back-to-back bullets — sending her to the top of the event rankings with a perfect record.  Lena Erdil was equally consistent and if the event were to finish now she would complete the prestigious overall podium having recorded two, 3rd place finishes as the Turkish beauty showed tremendous straight line speed to burn off many of her rivals. Erdil currently has a bit of room for error as she holds a 4 point advantage over Cagla Kubat, but you can expect the intriguing battle for the podium to continue as each woman fights as hard as they possible can for that illustrious top 3 finish.  Marion Mortefon is a further 2 points behind in 5th place, but is not out of the running yet for a place in the top 3 after finishing 4th in the Race 2. Mortefon finished 2nd overall in Turkey and is more than capable of going on a run and fighting her way back into contention. The forecast for tomorrow looks promising and should result in another enthralling day of racing. The skippers’ meeting has been called for 9am with the action commencing from 9:30am — if conditions allow. After an astonishing first day of racing make sure you don’t miss any of the drama by tuning into www.pwaworldtour.com — here you’ll be able to follow everything as it happens via the PWA live stream and live ticker. Can Iachino and Albeau fight back? Will Sarah-Quita Offringa continue to hold her nerve? Find out tomorrow right here. Women’s Current Standings After Elimination 2 — Airwaves Noumea PWA Dream Cup 1st Delphine Cousin (Starboard / Gun Sails) 2nd Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / NeilPryde / Mystic / Maui Ultra Fins) 3rd Lena Erdil (Patrik / Point-7 / Mystic / AL360) 4th Cagla Kubat (Starboard / Severne) 5th Marion Mortefon (Patrik / Gun Sails) Men’s Current Standings After Elimination 2 — Airwaves Noumea PWA Dream Cup 1st Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) 2nd Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (Starboard / Point-7) 3rd Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) 4th Alexandre Cousin (Patrik / Loft Sails / Mystic) 5th Taty Frans (Starboard / GA Sails / Mystic) 5th Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne / Mystic) 7th Ben Van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails) 8th Antoine Questel (Starboard / GA Sails) 9th Mateus Isaac (Starboard / NeilPryde) 10th Valentin Brault (Exocet / XO Sails)