Toselli wins in France
This weekend saw the opening leg of the AFF French Slalom Championship. Last year saw an all French podium on the world stage so it’s safe to day that the French national championships are a fiercely contested affair with several of the world’s best partaking.
Now it’s over to Point-7 who caught up with Pascal Toselli (99NoveNove / Point-7) after he was able to score the opening bullet of the year.
Point-7
Pascal Toselli starts off the season by winning, and we are all aware on how high the level of the French competition is as there is often five French sailors in the top five at PWA events.
Exaclty this weekend it would have been also Alberto’s 30th birthday, and Pascal won. A great birthday present Alberto was able to receive from the Black Team!
Let’s find out more from the winner!
Was it the first time you won a French Championship event?
PT: “Yes this is the first that I win a AFF event and I am very happy to have finally made it happen, we had nice, but quite difficult conditions, and we could use 6.3m to 8.6m.”
How was the feeling? Better than being on the podium at the PWA? Or a different feeling?
PT: “The two are not comparable, the PWA podiums last year are really something unique. Although I am very happy to have won this first AFF event.”
Marignane is your home spot? Was this an advantage or is it a home spot for many top riders in France?
PT: “The AFF event actually was on my home spot, which I know very well, and I'm very glad that I got the win at home. It's always an advantage to be at home even though most of the other riders know this place from many years and they often come training. We had a lot of events in this place, so it was nothing new for most of us.”
On the PWA there are many French riders having top 5 results. Why is this? Has Antoine Albeau motivated the young French windsurfers to be strong like him, or is it that you are all training together, or just great conditions in your country?
PT: “We are very fortunate in France in terms of conditions and spots, which vary a lot and the frequency of wind is amazing, this is of great help. We are also a large number of riders, we practice together and this pushes the level up. A dynamic that is created and helps us to improve. But 2014 was not just the French season which was exceptional, but there were and are many other well-represented nation.”
Was all your gear tuned perfect? Which sizes did you use for sail and board?
PT: “I started to get used to my gear now. It is the beginning of the season and settings will evolve further in the next months. I used 6.3m / 7.2m / 7.9m / 8.6m AC1 and 95/115/135L WCSL 99 this weekend, but spent most of the time on the 7.9m and 115L."
Now that you have used the AC-1zero15 in racing, where would you say that the development on the new sails brings you an advantage?
PT: “The first event of the year is always highly interesting because it is a first confrontation which shows whether the winter training and development on the material was effective. This is the first event, but it’s a good to start to get the confidence that all the material seems to work very well! I feel terribly well with the AC-1zero15 which is still evolving in the right direction! It’s easy to sail, and the changes compared to 2014 are real. The weight loss was another real advantage.”
Well done Pascal.
With under a month to go before the first PWA Slalom event of the year in South Korea this is perfect preparation for Toselli, who showed on many occasions last year that he has the skills to mix it with the best in the business. Find out how Toselli and the rest of the PWA fleet fare in the opening slalom event of the year by tuning into www.pwaworldtour.com from the 1st until the 6th May.