A good deal for Amado Vrieswijk

01/10/2022

Foil Slalom continued to provide the entertainment on Day 7 of the Mercedes-Benz Windsurf World Cup Sylt as winds of 10-20 knots once again had the foilers reaching for their medium equipment, whilst a few sailors elected for the fin - namely Ingmar Daldorf (Tabou / GA Sails) - who made the Winners’ Final of Elimination 10. The end of the day couldn't have been any more dramatic with the last heat deciding who would head up the overnight rankings heading into the final few days of the event…

After the completion of Elimination 9, Maciek Rutkowski (FMX Racing / Challenger Sails) looked to be in a healthy position as he extended his overnight lead from 1.3 points to 5 points. However, Elimination 10 would take a dramatic turn as Rutkowski suffered a catapult on the second reach of the opening semifinal to be eliminated, which presented an opportunity for Amado Vrieswijk (Future Fly / Severne Sails) and Pierre Mortefon (Fanatic / Duotone / Chopper Fins / Phantom Sails) to potentially challenge for the event lead. Vrieswijk would soon be the only man with that opportunity as Mortefon suffered the same fate as Rutkowski after finding himself on the wrong side of a photo finish with teammate - William Huppert (Fanatic / Duotone / Phantom Foils).
As things stood, Vrieswijk would require a minimum of a top 2 finish to snatch the event lead and that’s exactly what the Bonairean would proceed to do. Vrieswijk chased - Enrico Marotti (JP / NeilPryde) - home in the final to move into a slender one-point lead over Rutkowski. There are still 3 days to go in the contest, so Vrieswijk will face a nervous wait, whilst Rutkowski will hope for an opportunity to race again.

Vrieswijk deservedly heads to the top of the rankings after producing his most consistent performance of the event with 2 second places and a third, whilst Rutkowski had a day to forget. At the start of the day the 30-year-old was the only sailor to boast a 100% qualifying record for the top 8 in every race, but today he crucially only qualified for one Winners’ Final. Elsewhere, Matteo Iachino (Starboard / Severne Sails) jumps back into the top 3 at the expense of Pierre Mortefon, who slips from second to fourth. Neither sailor sailed badly today, with each of them qualifying for two out of three Winners’ Finals, but crucially the Italian was able to record a second and a third place compared to two 6 places for Mortefon. At the close of play just 1.7 points separate the two former world champions.

Mateus Isaac (Severne / Severne Sails) has been one of the most consistent sailors of the event thus far and he enjoyed another solid day with two 4th places and a 9th, which sees the Brazilian maintain 5th place in the rankings. However, Isaac now has Enrico Marotti just 1.4 points behind him after the Croat produced the performance of the day, which saw the 31-year-old record back-to-back bullets in Eliminations 9 and 10 to climb two places into 6th, whilst also deservedly being awarded the Sailor of the Day award. Johan Soe (FMX Racing / Point-7) remains on course for an overall top 10 finish after another excellent day of racing, which saw the 18-year-old qualify for all 3 Winners’ Finals. Meanwhile, Sebastian Kördel (Starboard / Severne Sails / Starboard Foil) will remember today for a while as the German finally notched his first bullet on the World Tour having come so close before on several occasions. Kördel actually slips one place to 8th, but will be delighted to have finally claimed that all important win.
Reigning World Champion - Nicolas Goyard (Phantom / Phantom Sails / Phantom Foils) - finished 5th in the opener today, but then made a couple of small mistakes in the next two eliminations to miss out on the Winners’ Finals. The Frenchman remains in 9th, whilst Jordy Vonk (Fanatic / Duotone) continues to complete the top 10.
For Saturday, there is a contrast between the Danish forecast and WindGuru, so we will have to wait and see what happens, but with the potential for strong winds, first thing in the morning the Wave & Freestyle fleets will meet bright and early at 7am with a first possible start at 7:15am (GMT+2). Meanwhile, the Slalom fleet will meet again at 10am with a first possible start at 11am.