Nacra 15 World Championships: Swiss still holding the podium

The strong Tramontana wind which blowing this morning dropped suddenly and shortly after the start of the first race, the race officers had to sound the cancellation, the wind having completely disappeared. And so it was a return to shore for the 73 crews at the Nacra 15 World Championships today and they then did not return to the water until 2:00 p.m. for a second, ultimately unsuccessful attempt. So it's a day with no racing off La Grande Motte in the South of France. 

Axel Grandjean and Noémie Fehlman (SUI), Thomas Proust and Noémie Clabon (FRA), Manolo Gueslin Grimaud and Marion Declef (FRA) still hold the provisional podium. But nothing is certain for these three crews. With four races scheduled for tomorrow Friday and the forecast for a decent racing breeze to return to the race area,  practically any team in the top 10 can realistically harbor hopes of finishing on the podium. 

What is most likely is a big Franco-Swiss duel, the top two crews being separated by only one point. Behind, the third step of the podium is extremely open with six teams all on seven points. All have converged to deliver a fantastic finale full of suspense!

Tomorrow is the time to deliver, to call on all the racing and training experiences and chase the best possible result. The north-northwest wind should be well established by the end of the morning and at race time be blowing between 12 and 18 knots ... conditions which should be favorable for pairs comfortable in the medium / strong breeze.

We promise you a great show!

TOP 10 after 8 races (one discard)

1 SUI 270 Axel GRANDJEAN/ Noémie FEHLMANN, 16 pts
2 FRA 222 Thomas Proust/ Eloise Clabon,17 pts
3 FRA 167 Manolo GESLIN GRIMAUD/ Marion DECLEF, 25 pt
4 BEL 300 Kwinten BORGHIJS/Lieselotte BORGHIJS, 27 pts
5 NED 134/ Bart KOOIJMAN / BEUK,  29 pts
6 SUI 196 Clément GUIGNARD/ Marie MAZUAY, 29 pts
7 FRA 175 Camille RIGAUD/ Julien MOUTARDE, 32 pts
8 FRA 223 Clément Martineau/Lou Mourniac, 32 pts
9 FRA 210 Eliott Coville/Gustave Liot, 41 pts
10 ESP 140 Max RONDEAU/ Mar GARCIA, 43 pts

 They said :

Manolo GESLIN GRIMAUD / Marion DECLEF (FRA), 3rd in the standings 9 points behind the leader: "Everything will be decided on the last day, it will be interesting! We are going to watch our opponents a bit, but we will still have to do our sleeves and just play in front. We have a good handle on the breeze, so it's going to be fine I think. In Silvaplana at the European Championships (this summer), we were 2nd before the last day and before the last round, we won the championship (they finally finished 3rd) so we know how important the last days and the last races are ! "

Bart KOOIJMAN / Woman BEUK (NED), 5th 13 points behind the leader: "We are not so unhappy that we did not race today, because we are better in the breeze than in the light winds. But tomorrow it will send. We will do our best, work hard to progress in the standings and get on the podium overall and in the under 19 standings. "

Camille RIGAUD / Julien Moutarde (FRA): 7th 16 points behind the leader: "We are having a somewhat difficult second day in the championship, so we are not in our objectives. Tomorrow is windy, we have a knife between our teeth and we want to do battle. We try not to look too much at the standings and the points otherwise, we take too much head. Tomorrow, we'll have to be quick, have fun and may the best win! "

The Nacra15 in brief
The Nacra 15 is a 4.7-meter catamaran equipped with curved daggerboards (first stage before the foils) reserved for mixed crews in the U17 to U19 categories. Little sister of the Olympic Nacra17, it is recognized as an international series by the World Sailing (International Sailing Federation) and is the youth class for World Sailing events (international championships) and for the YOG, Youth Olympic Games. It is now the pathway series before the switch to 17-footer.