Hyères 2016 (04/25-01/05) ISAF SWC

Transcription

1 Hyères 2016 (04/25-01/05) ISAF SWC Texte et photos : Robert Deaves (Publié avec l autorisation de l auteur et de l IFA) 1

2 Journée 1 Josh Junior first out of the blocks in windy Hyeres Josh Junior (NZL) continued his winning ways from Palma to take the early lead at the Sailing World Cup Hyeres, holding the overall lead from Caleb Paine (USA) and Oliver Tweddell (AUS) after two windy races were held on the opening day. The forecasts were predicting wind and there was plenty of that. Anders Pedersen (NOR) made the most of the opening race to lead all the way to win from Jake Lilley (AUS), who moved into second place on the second upwind, overtaking Jonathan Lobert (FRA) who crossed in third. Early on in the second race Junior was in the pack but climbed through to second on the second upwind, to take the lead on the final downwind to the finish to take the bullet from Paine and Tweddell. Pedersen said of his day, It was for sure a big day here in Hyeres. Strong wind and big chop made it a hard day, especially upwind. In the first race I had a good start near the pin and it all went on track from there. In the second race I had a less good start but managed to be OK at the top mark. But on the second beat I really messed up so I ended up 14th. But I m happy with the first race, and it was really fun sailing conditions today. For the few countries that have still to select sailors for Rio, Hyeres is an important regatta, for some it will be the end, for others the beginning of the end. One of those countries is Australia with Lilley and Tweddell upping their game as the trials heads towards a conclusion at the Gold Cup, the class world championship, in two weeks time. Tweddell said, "Hyeres was WINDY today! The wind was coming offshore and it was breeze on. It was shifty upwind, and survival downwind; it was pretty fun though. The racing was nice and tight and intense which is what you'd expect with the majority of the best guys here. Racing in Hyeres continues to Sunday, 1 May when the medal race is scheduled. Results after two races 1 NZL 24 Josh Junior 5 2 USA 6 Caleb Paine 7 2

3 3 AUS 261 Oliver Tweddell 10 4 CRO 524 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 10 5 AUS41 Jake Lilley 12 6 NOR-1 Anders Pedersen 15 7 FRA 112 Jonathan Lobert 15 8 NZL-16 Andrew Murdoch 18 9 RUS 57 Egor Terpigorev DEN-2 Jonas Høgh-Christensen 20 Journée 2 Jake Lilley puts the pedal to the metal on second day in Hyeres Two race wins from Jake Lilley (AUS) moves him to the top of the pile after the second day of racing at the Sailing World Cup Hyeres. Josh Junior (NZL) drops to second while Oliver Tweddell (AUS) remains in third. All three are still seeking national Olympic selection. The wind was down from windy Wednesday, but there was still enough, eventually, enabling two great races for the 33 boat Finn fleet. Junior explained, Sailing didn t look promising this morning as there was no wind and lots of cloud. Just after lunch the breeze came in, the Nacras got four races away before we headed out to the race course. We had two races in a 10 to 13 knot WSW breeze, and the top left was pretty favoured. In race 3, Jonas Høgh-Christensen (DEN) rounded first after starting mid-line, and sailing up the middle, from Tweddell who favoured the right side. Max Salminen (SWE) rounded third. The Dane led through the gate with Tweddell and Salminen exchanging places but on the second upwind, Lilley and Tweddell moved ahead with Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) now in third. The final downwind was tantalisingly tight all the way. Tweddell got the initial advantage but then Lilley closed right up and took the lead less than 50 metres from the finish. Tweddell crossed second with Kljakovic Gaspic close behind for third. Lilley said, I got to Oli by the bottom of the final run and pushed him out, and then gybed inside to lead through the line for the win. The conditions obviously suited Lilley as he led race 4 almost all the way. He was led at the top mark by Enrico Voltolini (ITA) and Jonathan Lobert (FRA) but had the lead at the gate and extended on the fleet to win by more than 30 seconds. Ioannis Mitakis (GRE) climbed up to third on the first downwind after rounding the top mark in ninth, and then moved up to second on the final downwind. Lobert crossed in third. 3

4 Junior continued, I struggled to hold a lane off the start line, which left me fighting to come back through the fleet. However I managed to pick off some boats and end the day with a 5, 7. Jake sailed amazingly well today to win both of the races. Lilley explained his day, Today we had a shifty offshore wind fill in which was fighting the thermal push which meant we were getting some big phases and pressure coming from either side. I feel good and am just trying to sail conservatively and move forward throughout the races. I started in the middle both races and just ground them out. I'm just trying to round top 10 and make as few mistakes as possible and keep moving through the water. It was a tricky day, but tomorrow looks reasonably similar so fingers crossed I can just keep executing my game plan. Racing in Hyeres continues to Sunday, 1 May when the medal race is scheduled. Results after four races 1 AUS41 Jake Lilley 4 2 NZL 24 Josh Junior 10 3 AUS 261 Oliver Tweddell 12 4 USA 6 Caleb Paine 12 5 CRO 524 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 13 6 FRA 112 Jonathan Lobert 18 7 NOR-1 Anders Pedersen 19 8 GRE 77 Ioannis Mitakis 19 9 DEN-2 Jonas Hogh-Christensen NZL-16 Andrew Murdoch 27 Journée 3 No light between Lilley and Tweddell after testing day in Hyeres Following a stellar day for Jake Lilley (AUS) on Thursday his lead at the top of the Finn fleet at the Sailing World Cup Hyeres has vanished in the light French airs as he struggled all day on Friday and now goes into the final day of the opening series on equal points with Oliver Tweddell (AUS). Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) moves up to third while the two race wins went to Jorge Zarif (BRA) and Jonas Høgh-Christensen (DEN). You couldn t make it up; what a difference a day makes; it s never over until it s over...clichés are inadequate to describe the battle going on at the top of the Finn fleet in Hyeres. Olympic trials always bring out the best in sailors, even more so when it gets to the pointy end of the selections. But who could have predicted that Lilley and Tweddell would have upped their game so much that they top out a fleet of the calibre that is present in Hyeres, and on equal points, and an almost equal discard. Another new set of conditions tested the sailors on the third day in Hyeres, and with no more than 8 knots of breeze all day, the patchy winds caught out the unwary. 4

5 After Lilley s double bullets yesterday, he could only manage a 13, 19 today, while Tweddell, who is normally better in light winds, posted a 4, 11. Not great scores by any means but on a day like it was in Hyeres, it was good enough, with the light shifty winds bringing a pile of new boats to the front. The first race of the day was a huge win for the 2013 World Champion, Jorge Zarif (BRA), crossing the line more than a minute ahead of second place Anders Pedersen (NOR). A third place for Kljakovic Gaspic moved him up to third overall, with a fourth for Tweddell moved him back up to second. The regatta leader Lilley, fairly badly, crossing in 13th, but not as badly as Josh Junior (NZL) who picked up an OCS for starting too early and dropped out of the top three for the first time. Zarif, who won the Sailing World Cup Miami this year, led most of the way. It was light but not so shifty. I started in the middle, waiting for a good line of pressure and fortunately a good one came, so I rounded first. The downwind was OK, but on the second beat I made a mess and lost a lot of metres to the right. Luckily in the last 200 metres a good righty with pressure came in, so I was able to be close to Anders. On the last downwind, I had a little bit more breeze than him and passed. Jonas Høgh-Christensen (DEN) pulled out all the stops in race 6 to lead all the way from Björn Allansson (SWE). Third place belonged to Italy with first Enrico Voltolini (ITA) and then Giorgio Poggi (ITA) coming through on the second upwind. The Dane said, Tricky day, very light and shifty. I won the pin and wanted to go left as I thought there was more wind. I got lifted out of the start so initially it did not look too good but luckily I am so old that it takes me some time to figure out when to tack. Luckily when I came around to it the wind had shifted back with pressure. From there it was a case of consolidating and covering. Tweddell said, Today was very light and tricky with lots of holes around the race course, and big oscillations making it extremely difficult for us. On his ongoing trials he said, I've just been trying to focus on my own races, and perform as best I can. We have had a bit of everything so far this week, and I'm sure tomorrow will be just as tough. I'm obviously very pleased with how the week is progressing, but with the shorter racing format we have two very important races tomorrow, and I look forward to seeing what the day brings. Høgh-Christensen commented on the final day of qualifcation. It looks pretty open at the top of the regatta and a good day tomorrow can put you in a position to win. But there is still a long way to go and nothing can be taken for granted. The leading sailors today added more than 20 points to their score, and there are only 19 points separating the top 10 going into the final opening series races. Two races are scheduled for Saturday to decide the top 10 for Sunday s medal race. 5

6 Results after six races 1 AUS 41 Jake Lilley 27 2 AUS 261 Oliver Tweddell 27 3 CRO 524 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 29 4 NOR 1 Anders Pedersen 31 5 NZL 24 Josh Junior 34 6 DEN 2 Jonas Hogh-Christensen 36 7 BRA 109 Jorge Zarif 37 8 USA 6 Caleb Paine 43 9 GRE 77 Ioannis Mitakis FRA 112 Jonathan Lobert 46 Journée 4 Jake Lilley leads fleet into medal race after third bullet in Hyeres This week has been one of swings and roundabouts for Jake Lilley (AUS). Leading after two race wins on day 2, he struggled yesterday only to bounce back and win the final opening series race to lead the fleet into the medal race by seven points. Anders Pedersen (NOR) has sailed an exceptional week to move up to second with Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) just one point behind. Sailed in winds from knots, Lilley took control of the only race of the day on the downwind after rounding behind Pedersen. Josh Junior (NZL) was in third for most of the race to make amends for a poor day in Friday and now sits just one point off the podium. Pedersen has sailed well all week and is close to his first World Cup medal. He has also met his national Olympic committee criteria to qualify for Rio. On the day he said, The wind kept building when we got out and when we finally started we had a solid breeze. I had good speed and worked my way out to the left and got some good pressure and led at the first mark. Jake caught up on the downwind and we fought up the second beat, with Jake in the lead. I had some trouble with a nosedive on the last downwind and lost two boats, but it could have been a lot worse, so I m happy with the day. Meanwhile, Lilley has regained a points break. Today we spent a while waiting for the wind, and then for the Nacras to finish. By that time a front had come through and we had about 18 knots of wind. It was a really nice race, pretty much resembling the classic Hyeres Mistral breeze. I just tried to take any risk out of the race. I had an average start and just tried to shut down the players when I had the opportunity and sail the phases. The last downwind picked up a lot, gusting maybe to 28 knots. 6

7 It was nice to get another win and extend the lead after I had a bit of a shocker yesterday. Then we sat there for a few minutes and the race committee decided to send us in which was a bit disappointing. Mathematically any of seven sailors could take gold in the medal race. Nine take a medal. The week will end as it began. Tight. The medal race line up looks like this: Jake Lilley (AUS) The youngest sailor in the fleet at 22. Came into the Finn in 2013 and immediately started to pick up results at junior events, including being Junior European Champion in He has sailed amazingly well this week and still trying to win national selection for Rio. World ranked No. 8. Anders Pedersen (NOR) Was the Junior World Champion in 2014 and surprised everyone by following that up with an eighth at the ISAF Worlds in Santander to qualify Norway for the Olympics. Since then he has been pushing the front of fleet and winning races. World ranked No. 17. Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic (CRO) Three time European Champion and double Olympian, he hasn t shown the best of form recently, but with his own national trials for Rio concluding at the Finn Gold Cup next week, he is peaking at the right time. World ranked No. 2. Josh Junior (NZL) One of the brightest talents in the Finn fleet at the moment and still chasing Olympic selection. Won the Princesa Sofia Regatta in Palma a few weeks ago after a fourth place at the Europeans. Has a history of being slightly inconsistent and taking risks, but seems to have overcome that this year for his most consistent results since he stepped into the Finn in World ranked No. 3. Oliver Tweddell (AUS) Has been in the class for six years and is a former World No.1 and a six-time medallist at the Sailing World Cup. Was born and raised in England before his family migrated to Australia when he was 15. After a sub-standard 2015 season he has substantially raised his game in the last six months to try and win selection for Rio. World ranked No. 14. Jorge Zarif (BRA) Junior World Champion in 2009 and 2013, World Champion in Only sailor to have won the Junior and World titles in the same year. Also won SWC Miami this year and sailing as well as he has done since 2013 as he heads into a home Olympics. World ranked No. 18. Jonas Høgh-Christensen (DEN) The old man of the fleet, World Champion in 2006 and 2009, threetimes an Olympian and the silver medallist in Now heading into his fourth Olympics. World ranked No. 12. Jonathan Lobert (FRA) The 2012 Olympic silver medallist has struggled this week, but can still take one of the minor medals. Overcame a major obstacle last year with his first ever world championship medal. World ranked No. 4. 7

8 Caleb Paine (USA) Former World. No. 1 and recently survived the very close and stressful US trials, but one of the hardest working Finn sailors around and always sets his sights very high. Winner of two World Cup events. World ranked No. 6. Max Salmimen (SWE) Rio will be his first Olympics in the Finn after winning the 2012 Gold medal as crew in the Star class. World ranked No. 9. Results after seven races 1 AUS 41 Jake Lilley 28 2 NOR 1 Anders Pedersen 35 3 CRO 524 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 36 4 NZL 24 Josh Junior 37 5 AUS 261 Oliver Tweddell 39 6 BRA 109 Jorge Zarif 43 7 DEN 2 Jonas Hogh-Christensen 45 8 FRA 112 Jonathan Lobert 48 9 USA 6 Caleb Paine SWE 33 Max Salminen 56 Journée 5 Jake Lilley secures Hyeres gold after dramatic medal race The Australian Finn team of Jake Lilley (AUS) and Oliver Tweddell (AUS) have been making headlines all week at the Sailing World Cup Hyeres and the medal race was no different, keeping everyone guessing until the final excruciating moments. In the end, Lilley, who has led the regatta since day 2, took the gold, Tweddell took silver, while Jonathan Lobert (FRA) snatched the bronze. Rarely has there been so much drama in one 30 minute race with the overall medals changing hands several times, two huge comebacks out of the start by medal contenders and another comeback by the gold medallist at the last moment. The race was sailed in conditions from 1-12 knots, with heavy rain, and with a wind that died and shifted 90 degrees to further challenge the already challenged sailors. In fact the only constant was Caleb Paine (USA) who calmly led the fleet all the way. It was compelling TV gold. Following a long wait after the wind died, the Finn medal race started in knots with Oscar raised at the first mark. Paine took the first hitch to the right soon after the start, and when he came back he was on a big right shift that took him straight to the top mark. He extended his lead and was never headed to win the race, crossing the finish line in less than three knots. 8

9 But the real drama was going on behind him. Tweddell and Jonas Høgh-Christensen (DEN) both went back thinking they were over early. They started way back but fortunately hitched out right and hooked the new breeze to make a huge recovery to round the top mark in the top five. Meanwhile three of the main medal contenders, Lilley, Josh Junior (NZL) and Anders Pedersen (NOR) were stranded on the left with no way back. Tweddell slowly moved his way to third passing Høgh- Christensen and Max Salminen (SWE), and, at the start of the final downwind, with Lilley still in last place he had one hand on the gold medal. But then there was a new change. The rain was tipping down, the wind was almost gone and then it started to shift to the right. Lilley made one place on the downwind. A long way in front of him Paine, Lobert and Tweddell inched across the finish line. By then the wind had shifted 90 degrees, to change the final offwind leg to an upwind leg and this allowed Lilley to get to the right side of Junior and Pedersen and, even though he took a penalty on the finish line, managed to cross in seventh to secure the gold, his first World Cup win. Third place was enough for Tweddell to take the silver and second place gave Lobert the bronze, the first time he has been in a podium position all week. Lilley described the stress of the day. What an incredibly intense race. There was a lot of pressure riding on it. It is really important in terms of our trials. I had an OK start, and then got on the wrong side of the shift and it was looking really bad, but I kept chipping away. On the last downwind it got really light and I got pretty lucky, but just kept fighting and then got two turns on the last work to the finish but just managed to hang on. On rounding the top mark last, I couldn t afford to think about the situation. I just knew what was happening in the race, and I just had to keep fighting and take the right shifts and get in to the pressure. I didn t always get it right but if you keep trying sometimes it comes good for you. Tweedell said, "That was a tough medal race! I thought I might have been over the line so went back just to be safe. Then I could see more breeze out to the right so just went into it, and it paid off." "I'm very pleased to have won the silver medal here. It means both Jake and I have obtained baseline qualification results for the Olympics. So it will make the World Championships next week very interesting." The World Championship, the Finn Gold Cup, starts next Thursday in Gaeta, Italy, where more than one Olympic trials will conclude. Results after medal race (medal race in brackets) 1 AUS 41 Jake Lilley 42 (7) 2 AUS 261 Oliver Tweddell 45 (3) 3 FRA 112 Jonathan Lobert 52 (2) 4 NZL 24 Josh Junior 53 (8) 9

10 5 NOR 1 Anders Pedersen 53 (9) 6 DEN 2 Jonas Hogh-Christensen 55 (5) 7 BRA 109 Jorge Zarif 55 (6) 8 USA 6 Caleb Paine 56 (1) 9 CRO 524 Ivan Kljakovic Gaspic 56 (10) 10 SWE 33 Max Salminen 64 (4) 10