29er World Championship at Real Club Náutico de Valencia - Day 1
by Real Club Náutico de Valencia 26 Aug 2021 19:50 BST
23-31 August 2021
29er World Championship © Pep Portas / Sailing Comunicacion
The first day was held with good wind conditions, fulfilling the program with three races.
Antonia Schultheis and Ole Ulrich (Malta), Keo Devaux and Enael Rio (France) and J. Klempen and Steven Hardee (Virgin Islands) lead overall tied on 9 points, while Sergi Soler (RCNV) and Stinj Gast (RCNC) are the best Spaniards by occupying the 12th place.
The first day of the 29er Championship is closed in the waters of Valencia. It does so under good wind conditions, allowing it to comply with the established program of three tests in the three regatta race area and with a lot of equality between the fleet that has been divided into six groups and three regatta race area. Other of the keys of the day have been the favorites, or with podium options, who have not failed in the "Manel Casanova" race course.
Thus, Antonia Schultheis and Ole Ulrich (Malta), with partials of 1-5-3, adding 9 points, have placed provisional leaders, that is, they must share that first place with Keo Devaux and Enael Rio (France) and J Klempen and Steven Hardee (Virgin Islands). The former with results of 3-1-5, while the latter have managed to close the day with 2-4-3.
This equality and tie has moved to the back, although one of the great favourites: Sophie Fisher and Steven Hardee (United States), remain in a tight fourth place with 10 points while, in the next three places, 5th to 7th, there is a triple tie on 11 points. The Argentines, Santiago Duncan and Tadeos Funes, with the best sets (7-3-1) remain in 5th place, while the French Chloé Revil and Castilla Nell (1-3-7) are sixth, being the first in the overall female overall, closing this triple tie with the Finns Simon Karlemo and Lasse Lindell (2-7-2).
The provisional top ten closes on this first day with two Danish crews: Rebekka Johannesen and Silje Cerup-Simonsen, with 12 points, being provisional silver in the women's ranking, and Jens-Christian and Jens-Philip Dehn-Toftehoj who are tied at 13 points with the French team of Emilie Bouchet and Thomas Hautier (5-6-2) and the Dutch Yanne Broers and Dolf Hendriksen (5-4-4), in 11th place.
In a local key, we have the best Spanish crew in 12th place, with the tandem Sergi Soler (RCN Valencia) and Stinj Gast (RCN Calpe), being the first in the provisional general SUB17. Soler and Gast, in the red group, have gone from less to more, starting with an 11 and finishing with two good sets: 4-4.
The provisional SUB17 podium closes with the Germans Matti Balzereit and Lisander Zeiskemateo and Simón Codoñer (RCN Valencia), while the Italians, Malika Bellomi and Beatrice Conti are the first under 17s in the females.
Tomorrow, the second day of the qualifying round in which another three races are scheduled, with the first start at 1pm for the first race of the day in the three regatta areas.
Quotes from Day 1
Sergi Soler (Spain): "Today's was quite fun and the wind has been rising little by little, and the more wind it got, the better it was for us"
Antonia Schultheis (Malta): "We really liked that we were the whole fleet together, the wind conditions and the peaked waves demanded a more technical navigation. We hope to continue like this."
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