French Nacra 17 Trio Broken Up But Besson And Riou Hold On

Billy Besson and Marie Riou (FRA) held on to their Nacra 17 lead at the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates as the overnight French 1-2-3 was broken up.

Besson and Riou occupied top spot heading into the second day with compatriots Audrey Ogereau and Matthieu Vandame (FRA) following in second and Moana Vaireaux and Manon Audinet (FRA) in third. However the French dominance was shattered by Austria’s Thomas Zajac and Tanja Frank and Switzerland’s Matias Buhler and Nathalie Brugger who took a race win apiece to pile on the pressure.

“It was really difficult for us,” said Zajac, “In fact much more difficult than yesterday as the wind was going up and down with big wind holes in the fleet. You needed a bit of luck to have a nice consistent day.”

All of the teams had a very much up and down day with consistent results at a premium. The French teams dropped down to fourth and fifth, still in the hunt and Zajac remains wary, “We haven’t broken the French dominance yet I would say. There are still some races to go but as we saw yesterday and today it won’t be easy tomorrow. We are inshore in the bay and I think it could be a difficult day tomorrow.”

The Austrians picked up the final race victory of the day, racing tactically in a 7-9 knot breeze just off Lulu Island. With just 13 points separating first to sixth the Zajac knows the next few days will be a challenge yet has one eye on picking up an Abu Dhabi medal, “We’re not going to do anything special tomorrow, just try to do the same thing we’ve been doing over the last few days by just concentrating and doing our best.

“It would be awesome [to finish on the podium] and it would be a really nice finish to the year. Our big goal this year was to qualify the nation for the Rio Olympic Games. We are really happy we did this and to be here and finish on the podium would be a nice bonus.”

Besson and Riou have been the top performers throughout recent months and have two Nacra 17 World Championship titles to their name. The pair are always dangerous on the race track yet strive to improve and develop one race at a time.

With three races on Friday and Sunday’s Medal Race to decide the podium, Besson and Riou remain cautious, “You never know how it will go until each race has finished,” said Besson, “We are leading now even though we had a bad day but tomorrow we’ll look to correct our mistakes.

“We have the sun and waves here in Abu Dhabi so it is great sailing conditions.”

Besson and Riou top the podium on 13 points followed by Zajac and Frank on 19 points. Buhler and Brugger complete the podium on 20 points, tied with Ogereau and Vandame.

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About ISAF Sailing World Cup Final Abu Dhabi

All ten Olympic events will be contested in Abu Dhabi from 26-30 November, with an open kiteboarding event joining the fray around Lulu Island off the UAE capital’s stunning Corniche.

With just 20 boats in each event the competition is set to be fierce. Equipment will be supplied in eight of the ten Olympic events (RS:X sailors shall bring their own equipment) and support will be available for travel expenses and accommodation.

The Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club will host the ISAF Sailing World Cup Final with some technical facilities located at the adjacent Abu Dhabi International Marine Sports Club. The venue is located on the main island of the city with immediate access to the beautiful waters of the Arabian Gulf.

The ten Olympic events will contest an opening series and a Medal Race with the kiteboard fleet using a short track format. Prize money will be in awarded to the top three overall finishers in each of the Olympic events from a total prize purse of US$200,000.

The qualification system for the 2014 Final was published on 30 July 2014 and is included Addendum A of the Notice of Race. Click here for the Notice of Race. The first sailors to secure their place were confirmed at the ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander where the top ten in each event were offered a place.

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