The wind never fell below 35 knots during the slalom event, where the sailors pushed themselves beyond their physical limits to compete under immense pressure.
Antoine Albeau got off to an uncharacteristic start, finding himself in the loser’s final for the first race, but this was not enough to hold the great Frenchman back. Albeau was simply brilliant this week, proving to the world that he is the man to beat, and without question the best slalom sailor in the world at this stage in the PWA Tour. Ultimately, Albeau finished every remaining race in the top ten, and in the top two for 82% of the counting races – an amazing statistic that highlighted his dominance.

 

Pozo Slalom Action - Pic: Continentseven.com

Pozo Slalom Action - Pic: Continentseven.com

 


All eyes were on the brilliant Ross Williams during the opening rounds, as he continued his incredible form this year by finishing in the top three in every final on day one. William’s racing was excellent, and he was cool under pressure until an unlucky series of events proved to be his downfall. Unbeknown to Williams, a faulty battery in his race watch meant that he was losing five seconds on every start sequence, forcing him to arrive late to every start, and putting him under pressure for the remaining races, eventually badly effecting his overall position.
Kevin Pritchard has given his world ranking a massive boost after an excellent event. Always cool, calm and collected, Pritchard never missed a winner’s final, which under such harrowing conditions was an amazing accomplishment. Cyril Moussilmani also demonstrated his prowess as a world-class racer, with steady results throughout the event. He will leave this event with confidence as he looks towards the remaining contests over the next few months.
The speed sensations Bjorn Dunkerbeck and Finian Maynard were at times the fastest sailors on the water, both excelling in the nuclear winds, and taking the win in three winner’s finals between them. Maynard battled until the end, missing a podium position by just 0.4 of a point as the top four positions switched in a daily basis. The fact that there was only 0.7 of a point separating second and fourth gives an indication to how intense the racing was this year, and we must thank the top guys for putting on such an amazing show right until the end of the event.
Peter Volwater was outstanding this week, and he took a well-earned win in the final race, to the delight of his supporters. Volwater was superb in both racing and waves, his wisdom and years of experience adding to his great natural talent, and his result as proved that he is one of the best all-rounders of the sport.

 

Slalom winners - Pic: PWA/John Carter

Slalom winners - Pic: PWA/John Carter

 

 

Result:
1. Antoine Albeau
2. Kevin Pritchard
3. Cyril Moussilmani
4. Finian Maynard
5. Peter Volwater
full result

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