Sharon Kantor and Luuc Van Opzeeland still lead their divisions
With the first day of the Final Series completed, the Marathon race is scheduled for tomorrow with a course that will take the fleet to the island of Lobos passing Punta del Papagayo.
Credit: Sailing Energy
Marina Rubicón (Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain), 13 December 2023
The first day of the final series at the Lanzarote iQFOiL Games saw the wind already blowing at more than 15 knots in the early in the morning and so the 160 windsurfers competing in the last big event of the year enjoyed the best conditions yet on the race course which was laid right in front of Marina Rubicón. And now with the fleet already divided into the gold and silver groups, the respective leaders are still Sharon Kantor and Luuc Van Opzeeland.
Double tie at the top of the women’s fleet
At the end of the first day of the final series the results are very close. The added pressure to secure a place in the top ten meant that practically the whole fleet jumped the start gun. And so the race officers had to recall and try again several times.
The women's fleet notched up a total of four races. Sharon Kantor who has led since the first day of the event still maintains her dominance, recording a 1-5-4-17 (the 17th being her discard), even if now she is tied on points with second placed Katy Spychakov, who discards the 23rd place she scored in the first race of the day and adds a second, a third and a first.
"I felt in the water in the first heat but in the next one I was able to take advantage. I started the championship very well so now I'm trying to stay up there," said Kantor.
In third place, Britain's Emma Wilson is only five points behind Kantor and Spychakov thanks to her consistency, with three seconds and a fifth place today promoting her back onto the podium.
It was a great day also for Pilar Lamadrid. The Spanish windsurfer opened the final series of the Lanzarote iQFOiL Games with two race victories and two sixth places -she discards one of them-, now leaving her in fifth position, 11 points away from the podium positions.
"I managed to take two of the four races. We had a very stable wind of 15-16 knots, which is perfect for sailing and racing. I am very happy to find myself a bit better again and being able to fight at the top of the fleet; the main goal now is to get into the Medal Series," said Lamadrid.
Luuc Van Opzeeland holds on to first, too
The men's fleet completed five races today, with the flying Dutchman Luuc Van Opzeeland still maintaining a comfortable lead.
Winning two races today he added a third, a sixth and a ninth that he discards, Van Opzeeland opens the Final Series with a 17-points advantage over the second-placed Italian Nicolo Renna, who won two races today and is in second overall. Nico Goyard (FRA) is third now, 23 points behind the Italian.
Nacho Baltasar (ESP), who was second yesterday, broke his board after a collision today and he was unable to compete in the second race of the day. Despite this he was able to finish the day and stay in the fight for the title in the fifth position.
"After the collision I had to come to the marina to change boards and I missed that race, but I was able to get out quickly and arrived just in time for the next one, which was the best of the day for me with a third place. In general, the feeling with respect to the fleet –that’s very strong- is very good. I felt very comfortable. Now it's time to keep pushing because it's been a very tough championship," said the Spaniard.
Tomorrow will be the fourth day of competition, and the iQFOiLs will compete the Marathon race, which will score double points and will have a course that will take the 160 participants to the island of Lobos passing through Punta del Papagayo. The weather forecast predicts +20 knots NE winds.
The event is organised by Marina Rubicón and has the collaboration of the Royal Canarian Sailing Federation, as well as the institutional support of Promotur Turismo de Canarias, the Tourism Department of the Cabildo de Lanzarote through the sports product European Sports Destination (managed by SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote), the Yaiza Town Hall and the private entities Dinghycoach, Naviera Armas and Cabrera Medina (Cicar).
Provisional podium. iQFOiL Women. Day 3.
1. Sharon Kantor, 1+1+1+1+1+(3)+2+(3)+(17)+1+5+4=17
2. Katy Spychakov, (13)+3+(11)+3+2+1+1+1+(23)+2+3+1=17
3. Emma Wilson, 1+3+(BFD/37)+1+1+7+(9)+3+2+(5)+2+2=22
... 72 entries
Provisional podium. iQFOiL Men. Day 3.
1. Luuc Van Opzeeland, 1+5+1+2+4+1+(17)+3+1+1+(9)+6=25
2. Nicolo Renna, 3+1+(28)+1+1+23+1+1+8+2+(13)+1=42
3. Nicolas Goyard, 1+3+(BFD/45)+7+6+9+21+(9)+4+8+1+5=65
... 88 entries