ISWC Speed Championship, Karpathos – Latest
On day 5 the fight for the european champion title is still open between Antoine Albeau (FRA, Starboard) and Bjorn Dunkerbeck (SUI, Proof, North Sails). They are tied in points, but Antoine leads due to the better top speed of the competition. In the womens fleet Valerie Ghibaudo (FRA, Loft Sails) is already through, with five bullets in five races.
One more round was completed today in relatively light winds, leaving the decision about the title open to the final two days of the competition.
The skippersmeeting was again set to an early 9:00 schedule, but the wind was not there. Thus the riders were directly put on standby with the AP flag up, and around noon the wind was sufficient to start the next silver fleet race. The speeds were quite impressive with speeds around 38 knots, and the fight for the top five places to go up to the gold fleet race was tough.
The womens fleet was one more time dominated by Valerie Ghibaudo, clearly ahead of Anja Kruse (GER, F2, North) and Elke Schill (GER, F2, North).
As the wind dropped a little bit in the second extension of that heat, the gold fleet start was postponed.
At 13:40 hours the wind came up again and the gold fleet sent out to its fifth round, and the speeds were extremly good for the given conditions, proved by topspeeds of over 40 knots by Bjorn Dunkerbeck. Also Antoine Albeau in second and Cyril Moussilmani (FRA, Fanatic, North) came close to 40 knots, then Chris Lockwood (AUS, Carbon Art, KA Sails) and Finian Maynard (IRL).
Bjorn Dunkerbeck, winning the last two rounds and Antoine Albeau, who dominated the beginning of the event are tied in points now, and due to the better top speed Antoine is still in the lead. Cyril Moussilmani save in third, and places 4 and 5 hardly fought about between Finian Maynard and Chris Lockwood.
The womens competition is already decided, with Valerie Ghibaudo at a perfect score, Anja Kruse save in second and Elke Schill in third.
With a bad forecast for tomorrow and a slight chance for wind on the final day of the competition, it all looks like the decision will be taken in the last race of the last day.
Full results can be found at www.speedworldcup.com and the media gallery of the event at http://www.audio-video-stream.de/emkarpathos/gallery/
Speed:World:Cup is the officially sanctioned world tour of the International Speed Windsurfing Class (ISWC) and the Professional Kite Riders Association (PKRA)
The Speed:World:Cup events go from exceptional action in Namibia to more cosmopolitan spots such as Fuerteventura – the historical European Speedsurfing Capital, to huge shows of extreme conditions on small islands like Karpathos. In total, there are 200 to 300 competitors at the same time, from places like Australia or Brasil, to Germany or Norway.
The Tour has to offer: dynamic, thrilling action, and bring the most visually dynamic aquatic sports to the audience, making it a perfect vehicle to locate sponsors logos; a sport that is set outdoors, healthy and environmental friendly.
Superb action on the water, combined with an interactive and exciting life experience, that creates an atmosphere where the fans and the media are face to face with the most radical and intense competition and the biggest personalities of the sport.
Besides being a sport of radical action, Windsurfing and Kiteboarding is a way of life. This type of life is formed by several elements to which many aspire, but that few can really achieve. Most of, if not even all of these aspects of the sport are represented in the Speed:World:Cup.
The Speed:World:Cup is entitled to hold World, Continental and National Championships and is always looking for partners, local organizers as well as national associations, to propagate this exciting and thrilling discipline all over the world.
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OFFICIAL WEBSITE: http://www.speedworldcup.com
