Davidoff Cool Water PWA Sylt World Cup

Day 3: Iachino strikes first to claim opening bullet of the week

The wind arrived on day three of the 2015 Davidoff Cool Water Sylt PWA World Cup and it was the slalom fleet who took centre stage in front of a packed out crowd as the opening elimination was completed in 7-15 knots.

In the light and tricky conditions Matteo Iachino (Fanatic / North) came out on top and the Italian was visibly delighted with his efforts — knowing the significance of this elimination, which could potentially be the only race to be completed this week. As things stand this would take Iachino to the top of the overall rankings, but there is obviously a long way to go before that is a reality, however, it is the perfect start.

Slalom

Elimination One

Winners’ Final 

Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails) screamed down the opening reach to lead into the first buoy, but the Frenchman’s advantage didn’t last long as Matteo Iachino (Fanatic / North) executed a splendid gybe to overtake Bordes on the exit. The Italian has been on the top of his game for the entire season and there was no chance he was going to let this golden opportunity to draw first blood through his fingers. Iachino continued to show excellent speed and solid gybes over the remainder of the course to take the first bullet of the week. Bordes defended off the challenge of Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) to claim second, whilst the top four was completed by Andrea Cucchi (Starboard / Point-7).

Kurosh Kiani (Starboard / Point-7 / Maui Ultra Fins) recorded his best result this season as the Dane qualified for the winners’ final to finish the elimination in eighth place.

Ben Van der Steen (Tabou / GA Sails) missed out on a place in the winners’ final after hitting a piece of chop mid gybe, which stopped him dead in his tracks, At the time the flying Dutchman held a qualifying place, but couldn’t recover as Antoine Questel (Starboard / GA Sails), Andrea Cucchi, Antoine Albeau and Steve Allen (Starboard / Severne) all booked their place in the final, whilst Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic) narrowly missed out in fifth.

Malte Reuscher (JP / NeilPryde) made the best recovery possible after a dropped gybe cost him a place in the final when leading the second semifinal. The Italian dominated Heat 15 to finish the first race in ninth place. 

A number of big names fell in the opening couple of rounds, but the biggest shock of them all saw Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / North) eliminated in the quarterfinals. The Frenchman didn’t put a foot wrong in the last event in Turkey, but today couldn’t recover from a slow start in Heat 9 as he missed out in fifth place.

The forecast for the next few days doesn’t look too promising with almost no wind being predicted at the moment. However, the end of the week should see the return of the wind on the latest forecast model. The skippers’ meeting for all three fleets will be held at 10am tomorrow morning. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to stay up to date with all of the latest news from the event. 

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