Poema Newland and Jessie Kampman continued France’s remarkable run in the Formula Kite Women on day three of the Allianz Regatta.
The pair have won 11 of 12 heats between them with Newland accounting for seven of those to open up a sizable lead at the top of the standings. Kampman has been less consistent, sitting fourth overall, but has managed four bullets of her own including two more on day three. And there was more French joy in the Formula Kite Men, where Axel Mazella made a big move on day three to stretch clear at the top of the leaderboard. Elsewhere on day three, up and down conditions meant a late start for some classes and tricky conditions for others. It did not affect home duo Bart Lambriex and Floris van der Werken, however, as they maintained their control of the 49er class. The double world champions have now got five wins from eight heats to open up a giant 18-point lead as they look to wrap up victory before the medal race. The pair are one of four different Dutch leaders across the six categories, but where Lambriex and Van der Werken have big leads, elsewhere, the pressure is on.
In both the ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 classes, there is nothing in it with two days of action to go, while in the iQFOiL Men, the chances of an all-Dutch medal race look high.
Newland dominates as Mazella makes his move
A strong finish to the day cemented Axel Mazella’s position as the man to beat in the Formula Kite Men, while compatriot Poema Newland continues to dominate in the Formula Kite Women. Mazella finished day three with a third-place and then a win, and now sits on 16 points after 12 races, a full 14 points clear of Qibin Huang (CHN), who suffered his first bad day of the Allianz Regatta. Huang finished 16th in the second and third heats of the day, to give up ground to Mazella, with another Frenchman, Benoit Gomez, and Britain’s Connor Bainbridge, now just a point back from Huang. Newland’s lead in the women’s event is even bigger, sitting 17 points clear of Annelous Lammerts (NED).
Newland added two wins and a second place to consolidate her position at the top of the leaderboard, with compatriot Jessie Kampman taking the other two bullets as the battle for second rages on with just three points separating Lammerts and Gal Zukerman (ISR) back in fifth.
No slowing Lambriex and Van der Werken
On the surface, one victory, a fourth-place and a 12th hardly screams a great day for Bart Lambriex and Floris van der Werken in the 49er class, but it was enough to build an even bigger lead on Thomas Needham and Joel Turner. With 12 points from eight heats, the Dutch pair have an 18-point advantage over the Australians and could conceivably wrap up the title before Sunday if they continue at their current rate.
ILCA battle set to go down to the wire
There is still nothing in both the ILCA 6 and ILCA 7 classes, with Maxime Jonker still on top for the Netherlands in the former. She holds a two-point lead over Germany’s Julia Buesselberg, having won the opening heat of the day, before having to settle for sixth in the second. Compatriot Marissa Ijben won that second heat and now sits third on 16 points, just five points behind the leader. Another Dutch athlete, Mirthe Akkerman, also remained within striking distance, scooping two second places to sit fifth overall. Meanwhile, in the ILCA 7 class, Duko Bos is back on top thanks to two wins from two. That leaves him on eight points overall, two clear of previous leader Valtteri Uusitalo (FIN), with Willem Wiersema (NED) four points further back. And Bos knows that he will need to keep up this momentum with a view to Sunday’s medal race.
He said: “We have one more day of normal racing, so tomorrow it’s about keeping my cool and not getting frustrated if things don’t go to plan. It will be tough to get a big lead before the medal races, even a lead. The other two guys on the podium are doing really well so I think it will be a tight medal race.”
Consistency the key in iQFOiL
In the iQFOiL Men, Luuc van Opzeeland extended the lead he has held since day one, showing the most consistency of the top windsurfers. Two second-place finishes, along with a fifth, were enough to give him a 10-point lead over compatriot Huig-Jan Tak, who bounced back from two disqualifications with two bullets. Olympic champion Kiran Badloe earned one win, but also suffered a pair of disqualifications to fall back into third, a further seven points back.
