Ensis Engadinwing 2024 Formula Wing Europeans - Day 4
by Jemima Crathorne 14 Jun 2024 22:41 BST
11-16 June 2024
Tight racing in the women's fleet - Ensis Engadinwing 2024 Formula Wing Europeans © IWSA Media / Sailing Energy
Highlights
- Mathis Ghio [FRA] takes the lead in the men's rankings.
- Maddalena Spanu [ITA] continues to dominate in the women's fleet.
- Marta Monge [ITA] and Oscar Leclair [FRA] book their tickets straight through to the finals.
Wingfoilers are certainly a tough breed! Event race officer Mirco Babini couldn't believe his eyes at the impressive display of "ice gladiators" battling for bullets on the racecourse. As temperatures plummeted to lows of 1°C, riders completed two races in the morning session to wrap up the qualifying series before the fleets were split and the Gold fleet racing began!
Mind-over-matter
In the words of Italy's Francesco Cappuzzo, "the cold is in your mind". It was undoubtedly a mind-over-matter day as riders tried all sorts of innovations to keep warm, including an array of makeshift glove variations, booties, and even an on-water electric body warmer for Kamil Manowiecki [POL]. The gusty and shifty winds demanded a lot of brainpower for the racers, so whoever could divert their attention away from the cold onto the racecourse would come out on top.
France's Oscar Leclair values the importance of the 'mental game', remarking, "I spent a bit more time on shore before heading out as I was in my own bubble, trying to focus my mind as much as possible." Gold fleet racing takes the competition to a whole new level, Leclair remarks, "it was an intense battle every minute. We all have about the same speed in the gold fleet, so it's all about who has the best strategy and tactical choices."
With two Gold fleet races sailed, it was Italy's Alessandro Tomasi and Frenchman Mathis Ghio who managed to claim a bullet each in the highly competitive fleet. "There were a lot of changes in the top men today, the points were so close. The day was pretty tricky with gusts and shifts; you had to be very consistent all day long" Ghio notes, emphasizing 'consistency' as the key word once again for this regatta. "Today my strategy was to go as fast as possible to the right side of the lake and tack as close as possible to the road, sometimes I was really quite close to the cars" laughs Ghio, content with his winning strategy. Ghio now tops the leaderboard, booking his spot straight into the finals where he will have a 2 wins advantage, alongside Oscar Leclair with a 1 win advantage in second.
The Mighty Marta Monge
With three wins out of today's four races, Maddalena Spanu [ITA] continues to impress, securing her spot straight into the finals. Joining her is fellow Italian, Marta Monge in second place. "I had to shake my hands a lot to keep the blood flowing in the cold conditions. It was pretty hard because the wind was very gusty; it was very important to stay in the gusts, if you didn't then you just stopped! But it was good racing and I'm so happy to take second place straight into the finals" remarks Monge, delighted with today's performance. Monge continues, "it's the first time I've ever made it into the medal series in second, which is a really nice feeling. I'm so excited for tomorrow's racing." Amongst the riders who will be battling in the semi-finals are top contenders Orane Ceris [FRA] and Hayley Chan [HKG].
Join us tomorrow for what is sure to be an exhilarating final series! We will kick the day off with the Golden ticket race. Whoever wins will join the Top 9 in the Medal Series. It's anyone's game! You can track the action live on Metasail to find out who our Champions will be!
Results Men
1. Mathis Ghio FRA 8.4 p
2. Oscar Leclair FRA 11.0 p
3. Alessandro Jose Tomasi ITA 11.4 p
Results Women
1. Maddalena Spanu ITA 6.0 p
2. Marta Monge ITA 13.0 p
3. Orane Ceris HKG 19.0 p
More info and full results available here.