Exciting competition in seven classes during the Delta Lloyd Regatta

Delta Lloyd Regatta © Sander van der Borch

The 33rd edition of the Delta Lloyd Regatta starts on Tuesday, 23rd May in Medemblik, the Netherlands, and it's looking to be an exciting race this year. With the World Championship in sight, many Olympic sailors are ready for a new campaign. We're also set to see several young talents training for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Laser radial sailors preparing for World Championships

With the Laser Radial World Championships also being held in Medemblik later on in the year, the competition is very strong. With the complete podium from the Rio Olympics lined up, a strong year so far for the Belgium, Evi van Acker, and Dutch talent Maxime Jonker, who's very familiar with the waters in Medemblik, it's hard to predict who'll be the favourite this week.

In the Laser all eyes are on Cyprian, Pavlos Kontides. This three time Olympic sailor has already won the World Cup in Hyeres this year, after his 7th place at the Rio Olympics last summer. Kontides has a great competitor in the Australian, Matthew Wearn, who won the Delta Lloyd Regatta two years ago and is now aiming for Tokyo 2020.

Golden flow in 470 women

In the 470 competition, the focus is on the Dutch duo, Afrodite Kyranakou and Anneloes van Veen. They are in great form this year, winning event after event. This week they will compete in a combined field, which van Veen mentioned, "Competing with the men is great for us because they are more sharp and aggressive. It's a great way to improve ourselves."

Similarly, the Austrian duo, Lukas Mahr and David Bargher, are also ones to watch. In the Hyeres World Cup, Mahr and Bargher ended up in the top 10 and will probably be one of the stronger teams in the fleet this week.

In the 49er competition, we welcome back Erik Heil and Thomas Ploessel from Germany. The Delta Lloyd Regatta is their second event since the Rio Olympics, where they won the bronze medal. Last month they started their season with 11th place in Hyeres. Their biggest opponents will most likely be the Italian duo, Uberto Crivelli Visconti and Gioanmarco Togni. During the Hyeres World Cup, Crivelli Visconti and Togni ended up in 6th place.

Britian's top sailor, Megan Pascoe, will be the one to beat in the 2.4mR. She won the gold medal last year, after eight years of competing in this event. Pascoe will be supporting her fellow countryman, Will Street, who started his season at the Hyeres World Cup.

New Olympic campaigns and crew changes in the 49erFX

Watching the entries for the 49erFX, we see a crew change in the British teams. Where Charlotte Dobson and Sophie Ainsworth formed a team that finished 8th place at the Rio Olympics, in Medemblik we see Ainsworth on board with Kate MacGregor. They started a new Olympic campaign this year, finishing 11th place at the Hyeres World Cup.

In the RS:X, Dutch gold medallist, Dorian van Rijsselberghe, will return after a nine month break. We saw him in Hyeres last month, which was his first time on the board since the Rio Olympics. The World Cup was just a practice event for van Rijsselberghe. At the Delta Lloyd Regatta, he will compete for a medal once again in preparation for the World Championship in Tokyo later this year. His training partner, Kiran Badloe, has shown some serious progress during van Rijsselberghe's nine-month break and has therefore become a big competitor of the gold medallist.

New formats for RS:X, 49er and 49erFX

New formats will be used in the 470, RS:X and 49er(FX). In the RS:X the format from the European Championships, which were held from 6th – 13th May 2017, will be used. After the opening series there will be quarter finals, semi-finals and a grand final.

In the 49er and 49erFX there is a medal race for the top ten finishers in the opening series. The medal races will consist of three races.

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