The boss of Point-7 and the Black Team Andrea Cucchi won the 2014 Defi Wind in stormy conditions and was able to keep 999 other riders behind him. 4 days of Tramontane wind made it possible to carry out the 14th edition of the Defi Wind with 1000 windsurfers taking part. It was the biggest Defi Wind ever and the wind never was below 25knots, with gusts up to 45 knots.
Andrea Cucchi: “Last year I lost it on the last day, this year I got it on the last day. Defi Wind is one of those events that gives you a great feeling to win. It’s hard for the mind and for the body and the 1000 people around make it unique. Thanks to the support to all my friends, which were on the beach keeping me focused.”
Andrea with great speed on his smallest gear at the 2014 Defi Wind
Andrea Cucchi reports about his 2014 victory
6 races were completed and everything got decided at the last race of the event. At 11.30 the last race got started. The first leg was eaten up in record time. At the first buoy I was in the lead followed by Anders Bringdal, Patrice Belbeoch, who crashed, Moretti, Standhardt, Guadagnino, Brault and Warembourg. It was a really strong fleet in 2014 and the victory for the overall ranking is being played out here in this last confrontation. We have been up against each other during the entire week with the same fighting spirit as if we were competing at a World Cup.
I was going fast and constant throughout this final race and tried everything to win this final duel. It was a fight with Anders Bringdal, who made a good comeback, Gerald Pelleau and Patrice Belbeoch. Denis Standhardt, who had top speed during all his races, made a comeback amongst the leaders and overtook French rider Nicolas Warembourg, who won the kick-off race in 2014. So I was able to take the win.
I was excited to come back to the Defi Wind in 2014. Last year I had lost the race on the last day against Patrice Belbeoch. Patrice started strong in this edition, while I was not having good starts and I was not fully tuned in to have the speed I needed to win. I almost gave up the idea that I could even make the podium after the first 2 races. I raced safe to try to keep a constant position and found myself in second place on the second last day. In the night I checked the ranking and I actually realized that if I would win the last race and will be 5 points ahead of Nicolas, who was leading, I will be the winner. A kind of very low chance. Not so much for myself being first, but more for Nicolas to be 5 places behind me. So it was not only me there to decide.
The finish in leading position in the final race #6
Patrice was only 0.4 points behind me and had also a great chance to win due to his hyper speed. I still wanted badly to win one race at the 2014 event. I knew it was only a question of pushing hard my fin for those 40km and a good start for this last race. I did not want to look at what the others were going to do. I went my way. I was top 5 right after the start and I was higher upwind then the others. I reached the mark first by one meter from Anders. My legs were crying, but I could not let it go if I wanted to get a 0.7 score. In the middle of the course Patrice and Anders were coming back and almost overtaking me. I was “cooked”. I could not keep my board to sit fast over the water. So I decided to go higher upwind to look for the flat water. Once I got upwind to the shallow water, Anders and Patrice were in front of me almost, but lower downwind. At that point, I went for the speed run to make sure I could be again first to the last jibe. So it was, and managed to keep first all the way. Once I crossed the finish line, I started counting the number of riders dividing myself from Nicolas and it was enough to win the event.
Andrea after winning coming back to the beach
Read a comment by Philippe Bru, creator of DEFI WIND and associate manager of Ilago Event, producer of this 14th edition:
Philippe Bru: “It was an exceptional edition: we closed ticket sales a month ago, we have beaten the record for the number of participants with 1,000 entries. Plus we had ideal weather conditions that allowed us to launch six races, covering a total of 240 km at sea, progressive weather conditions with the wind peaking on Saturday and decreasing for Sunday, with still 780 contestants on the water for the last round. The combination of all these factors makes this 14th DEFI an extraordinary edition. People are delighted; we have never received so many thank yous. It means that something special happened here; it definitely was one of the best editions of DEFI WIND”.
Andrea with the trophies
©Andrea Cucchi, Tommy Della Frana, Philippe Bru 2014
