The penultimate day of the Pegasus Airlines PWA World Cup allowed a further two eliminations to be completed as the Meltemi winds continue to be reliable as clockwork. Despite, somewhat gusty winds, in the morning the winds eventually kicked in by the early afternoon. Today saw Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde) dominate the men division as he claimed two victories out of two, and with it Antoine cemented his place at the top of the current event rankings.
Men’s Slalom – Elimination Seven – Winners’ Final
Yet again Antoine Albeau timed he start to perfection along with Ben Van Der Steen. However by the first mark Albeau had ensured that he was first to opening buoy with another show of exceptional speed. His archrival Bjorn Dunkerbeck arrived in second place with Ross Williams and Taty Frans all in contention at this point. However, Albeau capitalized on the clean wind presented before him and by the third buoy he cranked round his gybe with a clear lead. Dunkerbeck still occupied second, but the real point to note was the fact that Van Der Steen had managed to come storming back from seventh place to third with a display of blistering speed and silky smooth gybes. Around the final mark, Albeau showed no signs of crumbling under the pressure and he claimed his fifth victory of the event after another magnificent display. In the meantime, Dunkerbeck had to settle for second, whilst Ross Williams finished in fourth after edging out Cedric Bordes, after the Frenchman out maneuvered Frans.
Elimination Eight – Winners’ Final
The second winners’ final of the day began with a dramatic start as the local man Bora Kozanoglu was disqualified for a false start. Despite a protest from the Turk, his appeal was rejected and the top seven engaged in the restart. When heat sixteen was underway again it was Ross Williams that made the best start of the fleet. However, as the case has been so often this week, the dominant force of Antoine Albeau literally flew to the front of the fleet by the first gybe. Still challenging the Frenchman were Van Der Steen, Andrea Cucchi, and Williams. As the top seven men approached the third mark it was still, the now elusive Albeau, who led the way and he was simply uncatchable as he claimed his fourth race in a row as he continues his hot streak of form. Italian, Alberto Menegatti, produced a sterling performance as he claimed second place ahead of the flying Dutchman, Van Der Steen, and Bjorn Dunkerbeck in fourth.
In the earlier rounds of the eight races, heat seven witnessed a nail biting finish for the final qualifying position. As Andrea Rosati (RRD / Gaastra) and Tom Malina (Fanatic / Simmer) experienced the battle from hell right up until the line. Eventually a photo finish separated the pair and it was Rosati who edged his way into the top four. The eighth round also witnessed eight over-earlies as the event witnessed the most re-starts of the week.
Antoine’s words after the day of racing:
Good day again today: 2 first, I had good starts and good speed, using 8.6 Evo4 and 129 and 114 RRD. Thanks to the guys who caddy for me today…
6 first, one 3rd and one last for now, on day to go!!
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Bonne journée aujourd’hui, j’ai eu des bons départs et une bonne vitesse, j’ai utilisé 8.6 Evo4 en 129 et 114 RRD. Merci à ceux qui m’ont fait caddy aujourd’hui…
6 fois 1er, une fois 3eme et une fois dernier, encore un jour !!
Results After Eight Eliminations – Men’s Slalom
1st Antoine Albeau (RRD / NeilPryde)
2nd Ben Van Der Steen
3rd Bjorn Dunkerbeck
8th Julien Quentel (RRD / NeilPryde)