Hats off to LUDO

We catch up with the surprise slalom man of the moment, Ludovic Jossin, after he recently sailed his way to a career best of forth overall in the 2011 PWA Vietnam Grand Slam.

PWA: Ludo, how does if feel to have just posted an amazing 4th overall in the 2011 PWA Vietnam Grand Slam?

LJ: "Very good Sir!! It is of course a surprise for me and all the Loftsail team. Hope to repeat soon!!!"

PWA:Did you have any idea in your wildest dreams that you'd be up there with the likes of Dunkerbeck and Albeau?

LJ: "I try to do my best all the time,I did make some finals with those guys in the past but nothing consistent. I arrived well prepared in Mui Ne but never really imagined to finish this close to the podium."

PWA:Ok, so the the question everyone wants answered is; how did you do it, is there some secret training regime we should be aware of?

LJ: "Since Ben VDS arrived in the team and make his home in Tarifa, I have a sparing partner which I never had in the past. Tarifa is very well known but there is no racers around here. So we start to train for the season going to gym and mountain biking, such things I never did in the past! I am used to sailing a lot but never with a partner with a similar level. This combined to our very good Loftsails rigs helped a lot I guess."

PWA:If this is what your form is like at the start of the season, what do you think you're capable of over the coming year?

LJ: "I still have no target, only to do my best. Again I am very well prepared as I do the R&D for Loftsails and i've been sailing for several months with the new gear. We will now continue our winter training, tune a little more our gear for the next events and enjoy life."

PWA:The PWA's slalom top five is often seen as a sacred place which is inaccessible to those consistently placing in the mid teens. Now you've proved us otherwise, what's your advice to other aspiring racers hoping to break into the top 5 elite?

LJ: "Hard to say man! From my point of view I have a lot of respect for guys like Steve or Kevin who are very consistant in competition. Mistakes are very easy to do and it is one of the first thing to avoid. So a good concentration for me is very important. Training of course and sail as often as you can."

PWA:You don't have a board sponsor right now, is that a personal decision?

LJ: "French overall champion in 2009, Spanish overall champion 2009/2010 and 20th PWA 2010. What else can I say??"

PWA:Are there any tuning tips you have for recreational slalom sailors hoping to the get the most out of their gear?

LJ: "Try the Racing Blade 2011, trim reactive and easy/fast rigs!"

PWA:And lastly, congratulations, is there anyone you'd like to acknowledge for helping you achieve this amazing result?

LJ: "Thank you so much and thanks to Monty Spindler for his Designs, Dani, Ben, Mat, Yann, Sooruz, le Zubial, Bieuzy, Bob, Hugo, Lisa, Georges Jossin, Gigi Ropars, GBT3, Patrik and Michel, B3."

Ludovic Jossin is sponsored by Loft Sails, you can catch him in action in slalom's next outing in Korea from May 14-20.