Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam – Day 6

O belin… non posso lasciarvi soli un attimo che scoppiano subito dei casini!
A parte gli scherzi… ho lasciato ieri pomeriggio la diretta da Fuerte per una sukkosa mission in mtb, con Matteo che aveva appena vinto il primo slalom nel rodeo da 40 e rotti nodi del primo giorno di gara, riservato agli slalomisti del Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam e stamattina, quando sono arrivato in redazione (parecchio in ritardo, visto che dopo le fatiche ciclistiche serali, dormivo come un bimbo… ah, ah, ah!) ho aperto, fiducioso in un bis nel secondo slalom, la consueta mail con il report del PWA.
E invece “disastro”… leggo la classifica finale della giornata parecchio ventilata e di Matteo nei primi 10 non c’è traccia. E’ successo che nella heat 12 del secondo slalom, ad un passo dalle semifinali, Matteo sia incappato in un errore con succesiva catapulta nel tentativo di ripartire velocemente che ha lasciato campo libero ai suoi avversari…

A giovarsene fino in fondo è stato quel caro vecchio marpione di Antoine, che come al solito, quando il gioco si fa duro… si pappa il secondo slalom e con il secondo posto rimediato nel primo, si porta  al comando provvisorio di tappa… mai dare per finito il “vecchio” re, che nonostante la “leggenda” che con l’arrivo del primo figlio (a proposito auguroni, in buon ritardo, alla famigliola!) si perda tre secondi al giro… nella “bufera” i tre secondi lì dà agli altri!
Matteo è ora 12°, ma avrà a disposizione lo scarto da giocarsi al quarto slalom, probabilmente già oggi, viste le condizioni ancora più ventose previste.

Gli altri italiani sono nei primi trenta con queste posizioni Malte 17°, Cucchi 18°, Rosati 26°, Ferin, che bene ha fatto nel secondo tabellone, 29°… mentre Martini, Scagliola, Colombi e Brunetti, sono al momento più attardati in classifica.

Current Ranking Men’s Slalom — Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam
1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
2nd Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne
3rd Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses)
3rd Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails)
5th Julien Quentel (Patrik / Avanti)
6th Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails)
7th Arnon Dagan (RRD / NeilPryde)
8th Tristan Algret (Starboard / Severne)
9th Finian Maynard (99NoveNove / Gun Sails)
10th Nicolas Warembourg (JP / NeilPryde / Mystic)

Foto © PWA/Carter
Report Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam – Day 6

After 5 days of freestyle the slalom fleet took centre stage for the first time of the 2016 Fuerteventura PWA Grand Slam — organised and sponsored by René Egli — and it proved to be a spectacular start to the racing with winds in excess of 40 knots firmly testing the mettle of the world’s fastest sailors. At times the wind was so strong that survival became the primary goal and there were several massive wipeouts as Fuerteventura caught out several unsuspecting victims. At the end of the first day of racing Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) heads the top of the rankings after a first and second place in the opening two eliminations.

 

Survival conditions

Men’s Slalom – Elimination One – Winners’ Final
The opening winners’ final saw one of the closest finishes in PWA history as Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Point-7) pipped Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) to the first bullet of the week in an exhilarating finish, which saw the two heavy weights flying down the final reach at mac ten. Albeau looked to be in control, but Iachino turned on the afterburners to steal the victory from the claws of the reigning world champion. Meanwhile, Cedric Bordes (Tabou / GA Sails), made a fine start to the event as he secured third place ahead of teammate Ross Williams (Tabou / GA Sails / Mystic / Shamal Sunglasses).
 
Antoine Albeau and Matteo Iachino head-to-head

Enes Yilmazer (Starboard / Severne), Ingmar Daldorf (Patrik / Loft Sails), James Dinsmore (Starboard / Severne) and Massimo Colombi (Starboard / Maui Sails) all received byes into the second round after Bruno Martini (Starboard / Severne / AL360), Nik van den Eerenbeemt (JP / NeilPryde) and Diony Guadagnino (AHD / Loft Sails) all jumped the gun resulting in disqualification.

Elimination Two – Winners’ Final
Cyril Moussilmani (Starboard / Severne) led for the majority of the second winners’ final, but was denied victory by Antoine Albeau, who struck late to overtake at the final mark ensuring that he leads the event at the end of the first day of racing. Moussilmani finished in second place ahead of Ross Williams and Cedric Bordes and he holds second place in the current event rankings, while Bordes and Williams are currently tied for third.

A good day for Antoine Albeau

After making a flying start to the event Matteo Iachino suffered an early exit in the second elimination as he was knocked out in Heat 12, which saw the Italian go from leading the event to dropping to 12th but he will be hoping to discard that result after the fourth race.

Matteo Iachino

Elsewhere, Andrea Ferin (RRD / Challenger Sails / AL360), enjoyed a fine second elimination as he qualified for the semifinals. Unfortunately the Italian then jumped the gun in Heat 13, but secured 13th place to bounce back from a second round exit in the opening race.

Andrea Ferin

Current world tour leader — Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / NorthSails) — currently sits in 6th place after 9th and 5th place finishes today and you would expect to see him charging for the top tomorrow as he looks to continue to set the pace in this year’s title race.

Pierre Mortefon holding on

The forecast for tomorrow looks even windier, which should guarantee plenty of adrenaline fuelled slalom and whether anyone can tame Fuerteventura’s fierce winds will remain to be seen. Make sure you tune into www.pwaworldtour.com to follow the racing live. To see all the latest from the event — including the live stream, elimination ladders, entry list, images and live ticker simply click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page. Here’s a recap from the preview of some of the top contenders to look out for over the next five days.