2005 Nivea World Cup Sylt – Day 3
Tuesday September 27, 2005
 s05_four bullets for dunks! |
Although the rain was pouring down almost the entire day, the wind was well up at around 20 knots and therefore no one was complaining. Instead, the Slalom 42 fleet got down to some fast and furious racing for the crowds that had turned up as they always do here in Sylt, rain or shine.
At 10:30 the riders got down to business with round one of Slalom 42. In the final, Bjorn Dunkerbeck (E-11, North Sails) set the tone of the day, by leaving everyone else well behind. Peter Volwater (H-24, F2) was showing impressive speed today and got second place in round one, before Antoine Albeau (F-192, Neil Pryde), who fiercely fought his way back to third place after crashing at the first buoy. Cyril Moussilmani (F-71, Fanatic) was coming in fast and hard, but had to settle for fourth, while Kevin Pritchard (US-3, Starboard/ MauiSails) took fifth.
 s05_racing in front of the crowds |
For the third elimination, the race format was altered. Each round consisted of three heats; two semifinals and one final, each heat featuring no less than twenty riders. After a general recall due to Pieter Bijl’s (NED-0, Fanatic/ Neil Pryde) early start, the remaining nineteen finalists screamed over the starting line, aiming to rob Dunkerbeck off his lead. But again it was the Terminator who controlled the heat, leaving no room for anyone to take his top spot. Antoine Albeau (F-192, Neil Pryde) made a strong effort, but couldn’t overtake Dunkerbeck therefore ending up with second place. Third position went to Australia’s Steve Allen (AUS-0, Fanatic/ Neil Pryde), who stayed ahead of France’s Cyril Moussilmani (F-71, Fanatic) and Holland’s Peter Volwater (H-24, F2).
 s05_singing in the rain! |
Although it looked as if the wave contest might get started as well, at the end of the day conditions turned out not to be solid enough to send the wavesailors out. Tomorrow’s skippers’ meeting is set for 10 o’clock, so log onto www.pwaworldtour.com again on the fourth day of competition at the Nivea World Cup Sylt 2005 to see what goes down on the final event of the season.
