After five days the 23rd IFCA Slalom World Championships 2007 in Hyeres ended today in possibly the closest finish in the history of the IFCA. Starboard's Bora Kozanoglu had accumulated the same number of points at the end of the event as the UK's Dan Ellis. Dan took the lead event and championship based on his discard results.
Dispite not so promising forecasts it was possible to have spectacular windsurfing competition on all but the last days. Dan Ellis from Great Britain and Valerie Ghibaudo from France are the Slalom World Champions 2007.
The level of the top racers of the IFCA Slalom World Championships was very balanced which is confirmed by five different winners in the five slalom eliminations. So in the end the stability was a key factor to win the title.
Dan Ellis had a disappointing start into the regatta but then improved from race to race to win the final elimination and jump on the top. But he had to share this position with Bora Kozanoglu (TUR-11, Starboard, Neil Pryde). The Turkish Slalom Champion presented an excellent performance over the whole regatta. So in the end both riders ended up with even 6,7 points in the final result. So the tie break had to decide who is the Slalom World Champion 2007. To solve the tie the discards are taken into account and there the British slalom expert wins against Kozanoglu with a seventh place against a nineth. So perhaps Bora Kozanoglu can be proud of being one of the closest Vice World Champions in the 23 year long history of the IFCA Class.
Hubert Mokrzyki presented an excellent performance and was leading the event after the second day but then he pushed a little bit too much and was caught twice being over early. This cost him the title. Nonetheless he defends the third place with a total of 11,0 points. The Italian Slalom Champion Andrea Cucchi (ITA-1, Starboard, POINT-7) presented himself again in excellent form and is only one point behind Mokrzyki with 12,0 points. The Italian hotshot Alberto Menegatti accumulates 15,7 points and completes the top-5.
In the womens fleet Valerie Ghibaudo from France was the dominating force of the World Championships in her home waters. She won ten out of twelve slalom eliminations and rightly deserved the title "IFCA Slalom World Champion 2007". Verena Fauster from Italy was satisfyied with her second place but disappointed about the results in the individual slaloms. In the end she easily defends the second place The third place on the podium was won by Marion Raisi (FRA-213, Exocet, Gaastra) who was the most solid competitor of the other girls in the fleet. 39,2 points ensure a slight lead in front of the local youngster Fanny Aubet and the current Formula Windsurfing European Champion Agnieszka Pietrasik (POL-19, Starboard, Naish Sails).
The IFCA Class can be proud about its 23rd Slalom World Championship. With over 70 competitors from 14 different countries it was a major event for the windsurfing. In the top-6 of the men six different board brands and five different sail manufacturers are present. Almost the same variety can by found in the womens fleet. This shows that the IFCA Slalom World Championships are also an attractive plattform for the windsurfing industry. The next IFCA Slalom World Championships will be staged in September 2008 in Portugal.
In addition to Starboard's impressive form in winning the PWA Slalom Championship for two years in a row, Starboard is also dominating the current top 10 results in the IFCA's Slalom World Championship, with one more day of racing, the following summary, results and photos are courtesy of the IFCA
Incredible! Although the forecasts were not positive at all, for the IFCA Slalom World Championships we have been able to get spectacular windsurfing competition every day so far. Today we saw another Slalom for the men's fleet and even two for the women.
In the men's fleet the tension was almost touchable before the final of elimination 5. With Florent Renard, Hubert Mokrzyki and Alberto Menegatti three of the favorites eliminated themselves already by starting over early. This opened the door for Bora Kozanoglu (TUR 11, Starboard, Neil Pryde), Dan Ellis, Michal Polanowski (POL 16, Starboard, Neil Pryde) and Andrea Cucchi (ITA 1, Starboard, POINT 7). All of them had realistic chances for a place on the podium or even the World Championship title itself.
Dan Ellis had a killer start and led the fleet to the first mark. With excellent speed and safe jibes he ensured his victory in the fifth elimination. In second place followed Andrea Cuchi. The Italian Slalom Champion was able to score his best result in the competition so far. Bora Kozanoglu, the Turkish Slalom Champion scored an excellent third place in front of Nikolaj Kruppa (DEN 4, Starboard, Neil Pryde) from Denmark and Tom Nagy from France.
In the women' s fleet two races were run. Valerie Ghibaudo, the dominating leader of the World Championships won one of them but in the final race she was beaten for the first time. None the less she sits comfortably in first place with 6,3 points. Verena Fauster proudly took the victory and confirmed her second place in the regatta with a total of 25,7 points. Marion Raisi defends the third place with 39,2 points. The local youngster Fanny Aubet scored a third place in the last race today and is currently fourth. Agnieszka Pietrasik (POL 19, Starboard, Naish Sails) presented a strong performance today with a second and a fourth place and completes the top 5 in the results.
Before the final day the situation could not be more thrilling: Two riders are fighting with even points for the World Championship title. Due to his bullet in today's slalom Dan Ellis moved up and has now 6,7 points just as the Turkish slalom champion Bora Kozanoglu. To solve the tie the discards are taken into account and there the British slalom expert wins against Kozanoglu with a seventh place against a ninth. Yesterday's leader Hubert Mokrzyk could only follow the final from the beach as he was disqualified for being over early. Nonetheless he defends the third place with a total of 11,0 points. The Italian Slalom Champion Andrea Cucchi is only one point behind with 12,0 points. Another Italian completes the top 5: Alberto Menegatti accumulates 15,7 points.
Everything is open before the final day! We are halfway through the 6th slalom elimination and have the qualification rounds completed. We only need to run the two semi finals to make this slalom valid and another two heats to complete it. This is easily possible!
IFCA Slalom Worlds, Starboard dominates the top 5 in Hyeres, France
On Day three of the IFCA Slalom World Championships the forecasts predicted good wind only in the morning. So the skippers meeting was set as early as 7:30 with the first start at 8:00. So the organization and the competitors arrived at the beach of Almanarre when it was still fully dark. But the efforts paid off! Just as planned the competition could be started in perfect slalom conditions. A total of 3 eliminations for the mens fleet and even 7 Slaloms for the womens fleet were sailed today.
The Turkish Slalom Champion Bora Kozanoglu (TUR-11, Starboard, Neil Pryde) was able to win the first final in front of Hubert Mokrzyki from Poland. The current IFCA Slalom Master Champion Markus P??ltenstein from Austria left a brilliant impression also in the overall fleet an scored a third place with The Italian Slalom Champion Andrea Cucchi (ITA-1, Starboard, POINT-7) and Pawel Hlawati (POL-11, Starboard, Neil Pryde) from Poland on his heals. In the second Slalom Alberto Menegatti from Italy managed to dominate. The French hotshot Florent Renard scored another second place after his success from yesterday. Also Michal Polanowski (POL-16, Starboard, Neil Pryde) from Poland was able to confirm his excellent performance from the previous day with a third place in front of the Britsh Slalom expert Dan Ellis and Hubert Mokrzycki.
Another Slalom elimination was run in excellent conditions. And with Damien Le Guen we got the fourth winner in the fourth race. This proved how tight the performance of the competitors of the IFCA Class is at the moment. There are about fifteen riders at the event who have the potential for a podium finish. Dan Ellis proved his consistent performance with a second place in front of Bora Kozanoglu. Alberto Menegatti and Antoine Questel completed the top-5.
After three days of competition and four Slalom eliminations completed Hubert Mokrzyki is leading the IFCA Slalom World Championships due to his consistent performance with 11,0 points. On the second place follows Bora Kozanoglu from Turkey with 12,7 points. He can feal the breath of Dan Ellis in his neck as the British Slalom expert is only 0,3 points behind with 13 points. The two Italians Alberto Menegatti (15,7 points) and Andrea Cucchi (18,0 points) complete the top five.
For tomorrow the forecasts predict western wind in the afternoon. So hopefully we will see more slalom action. The IFCA Slalom World Championships in Hyeres will last until Sunday, October 7th.
Starboard wins first elimination at IFCA Slalom World Championship
The wind teased the competitors and the organisation of the IFCA Slalom World Championships throughout the day.
Several times the riders were sent out when the race crew was sure that the conditions are stable. And as often the competitions needed to be abandoned as the wind dropped under the limit of 11 knots again. But in the evening the conditions finally improved and allowed one slalom for the men and even two for the women in wind speeds between 14 and 20 knots. The Polish hotshot Michal Polanowski (POL-16, Starboard, Neil Pryde) was able to win the first slalom elimination of the IFCA Slalom World Championships 2008 in Almanarre, Hyeres (France). On the second place followed the French hotshot Florent Renard. Pascal Toselli managed to defend the third place against Hubert Mokrizyki from Poland and Carlo Rotelli (ITA-44, Starboard, North Sails) from Italy. The Italian Slalom Champion Andrea Cucchi (ITA-1, Starboard, Point-7) positioned himself in front of the British slalom expert Dan Ellis and Adriaan van Rijsselberghe from the Netherlands. The top-10 are completed by Antoine Questel and Damien Le Guen, both from France.
For tomorrow morning the forecasts predict strong wind that should go down in the afternoon. To achieve the maximum output the Skippers meeting will be already at 7:30 and the first possible start at 8:00. So it will be a short night for riders and organisation!
EuroCup Slalom Championship at Hyeres, France.
The IFCA Slalom World Championships 2008 kicked off in Almanarre, Hyeres (France) today. Over 70 competitors from all over the World representing fourteen different countries made their registration for the highlight of the IFCA Slalom season 2007. The officials of the class welcomed that not less then 16 women who have made their registration which shows the positive development of the IFCA Class in this segment. On the first day the wind conditions were light. None the less the organization managed to run one slalom for the women and the qualification heats for slalom elimination 1 for the men.
The first heat was won by Alberto Menegatti. The Italian youngster managed to dominate the race with a huge lead. On the second place followed Pawel Hlawaty (POL-11, Starboard, Severne) in front of Pascal Toselli. Marco Begalli, the tripple IFCA Master Slalom World Champion and Antoine Questel complete the top-5. The second heat was also dominated by an Italian rider. This time it was the turn of the "Italian Stallion" Andrea Cucchi (ITA-1, Starboard, POINT-7) to dominate over his opponents. The British Slalom expert Dan Ellis followed in the second place. Nicolas Warembourg got third with Pierre Mortefon and Davide Beverino on his heals. The womens fleet completed one slalom elimination. Fanny Aubet from France dominated the race in front of Olga Maslivets from Ukraine and Marion Raisi from France. Pepa Mavrodieva (BUL-121, Starboard, Gaastra) from Bulgaria defended the fourth place against Verena Fauster from Italy.
For tomorrow the forecasts predict excellent slalom conditions. To achieve a maximum output the start fort he competition was moved earlier. The Skippers Meeting will be at 9:30 with the first possible start at 10:00.
· 
 Cherry on October 04 2007 20:23:31
|
