Youth Foiling Gold Cup Act 2 - Qualifying Day 5: Next step, knockouts!
by 69F Sailing 21 Aug 2021 04:34 BST
13-26 August 2021
Youth Foiling Gold Cup Act 2 © 69F Sailing
Qualifiers are over, and the 69F fleet has a clear leader. Team DutchSail- Janssen de Jong lived up to all pre-race expectations by running away from the rest to a fleet to take a commanding lead in the rankings and, in the process, protected themselves from the knockout rounds and will advance directly to the finals.
Trailing the Dutch by more than 20 points but separated by only two points, Team France and Young Azzurra fought all around Lake Garda. Team rotations meant they didn't race against each other today, but yesterday saw two impressive duels, with a win apiece.
Below the podium places, Swiss team Okalys Youth Project is being hounded by the resurgent team from the Riva Yacht Club and helmed by Laser Youth World Champion Mattia Cesana. After a challenging start to the regatta spent learning the ropes to a new boat, Mattia and his experienced crew are now steadily climbing the rankings.
Next up is the knockout series, after a lay day tomorrow to rest up before the axe falls. The knockouts are comprised of three rounds of three races each. In the first series, the six lowest-ranked teams from the qualifiers race each other, and after three races, the lowest-ranked team will be eliminated. The second round replaces the eliminated team with the fourth-ranked team (Okalys Youth Project), and after three races, the bottom two teams will be eliminated.
For the final round of the knockouts, Team France and Young Azzurra (ranked second and third respectively) enter the fray, and after three races, the lowest-ranked boat will be eliminated. Then, the remaining five teams will advance to the finals to meet the top-ranked boat, Team DutchSail- Janssen de Jong who were saved from potential elimination thanks to their top rank in the fleet after the qualifiers.
Conrad Colman
"We finished the qualification series in third place, which we're not so happy about. We had to change many things onboard because racing in the Youth Foiling Gold Cup is really different from the Persico 69F Grand Prix. Young Azzurra has four team members, and we don't yet believe that we have found the final configuration. However, we are already qualified for the finals in Cagliari, so this is the best time to test new things while racing against the best teams in the Youth Foiling Gold Cup."
Ettore Botticini
Young Azzurra
Click here to see the full interview on IGTV.
Overall Ranking:
88,5 Dutch Sail - Janssen De Jong
67,0 Team France
65,0 Young Azzurra
56,0 Okalys Youth Project
53,0 Fraglia Vela Riva
37,5 Falconeri FVM Team
33,0 Amor
33,0 Katana Sailing Team
28,5 Magenta
20,0 Sail America