PWA Slalom Worldcup 2016
Kampf um den Titel – nur noch zwei Fahrer können dieses Jahr Weltmeister werden.
Mit nur noch einem Event des 2016er PWA-Slalom-Worldcups der Herren, geht der Titelkampf in die finale Runde.
Die Saison 2016 der Slalom-Racer begann in Ulsan, Südkorea, danach ging es an die Costa Brava, Spanien von dort nach Sotavento, Fuerteventura weiter nach Hvide Sande, Dänemark und zuletzt wurden spannende Rennen auf Sylt in Deutschland gefahren.
Jetzt gibt es nur noch eine Veranstaltung (La Torche, Frankreich, die vom 25. bis 29. Oktober stattfindet) und nur zwei Starter bleiben im diesjährigen Titelrennen ... Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) und Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails ).
Wie sehen die Chancen aus? Chris Yates von der PWA stellt die verschiedenen Szenairen vor:
What does this mean for the title race?
To Iachino, this scenario will feel all too familiar as the Italian entered the final event of last year holding the lead as well but seemingly cracked under the pressure in New Caledonia. However, having being faced with this position once already he should be much better equipped to write the record straight and earn his first world title. Iachino also enters France with a commanding lead after his latest victory in Sylt, while Mortefon could only manage 9th.
— Iachino is guaranteed a minimum points total of 10,203 points for the season as he currently has a 7th place discard. This means even without sailing Mortefon requires a top 3 finish to deny the Italian as 4th (2001 points) would only bring Mortefon level on 10,203 points — the Frenchman would then miss out on count-back for the second successive season.
— In the event that Mortefon was to :
- win the event - Iachino would need to finish 4th or better to secure the title
- finish 2nd - Iachino would need to finish 5th or better to secure the title
- finish 3rd - Iachino would need to finish 6th or better to secure the title
— All other scenarios would see Iachino crowned the 2016 PWA Men’s Slalom World Champion
On paper, it may look like a foregone conclusion that Iachino will pick up the world title, but as we’ve seen last year anything can happen when under pressure — particularly in an unfamiliar location as two year’s ago no slalom was completed.
Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com between the 20th-30th October to follow all of the action as it happens via the PWA live stream.
Wave contest will be run between the 20th-26th October and Slalom 25th-29th October.