Credit : J Vapillon / WOW Cap Istanbul
This challenging marathon between Sicily and Athens showed its true colours a few miles before the finish. Until the last break, all sailors in the top 7 had a shot at victory. But the tiniest circumstance favoured Nicolas Lunven's position.
As the threesome were following Jeanne Grégoire's (Banque Populaire) trail, suddenly the wind changed and so did the ranking. While Grégoire was enjoying her victory that she took over from Gabart, she was instantly outpaced by all three.
The devil is in the detail
Difficulties have gotten in the way of the "game” yet again. As the fleet was preparing to enter the Athens bay with their spinnakers up, there was fierce competition between Gildas Morvan (Cercle Vert) and Nicolas Lunven.
The French Open Sea Champion turned downwind in order to make use of a little breeze he felt. He wanted to catch the leading group of Jeanne Grégoire, François Gabart and Eric Péron (Skipper Macif 2009). But as the wind changed he paid the price of his faulty instinct.
Eric Péron on the other hand fought the best way he could but the fatigue was slowly taking effect. He couldn't achieve the spot he wanted due to an erroneous judgement in tactics.
Nicolas Lunven virtually started "flying” in the next hours, not letting François Gabart get past him. The tramola wars between Jeanne Grégoire and Fabien Delahaye went on til much later.
Lunven, Gabart, Delahaye... Three close friends didn't let anyone in their group by the end of the race. This outcome also proved Gabart's success in the Figaro Bénéteau class and drove another nail into the French Open Sea Solo Championship.
As for Nicolas Lunven... He also achieved a success that was beyond his expectations. Fabien Delahaye on the other hand has erased the disappointment of not getting on the podium in the first leg.
The overjoyed and the disappointed
The sailors are still finishing in Athens harbour. As some are pleased with the outcome, some feel disappointed. Having lost his leading position to François Gabart, Gildas Morvan is going to give it his all in the next three legs to catch up with him. Jeanne Grégoire is also among the disappointed lot for having lost the chance to get on the podium.
The others have good reason to be delighted. For instance Sébastien Josse (Vendée) saw that he progressed well but not yet fully established his dominance. Isabelle Joschke (Synergie) realised that stability really works and tried to stay within the top 10 by watching and learning from others' mistakes. Even though the valid strategy to take on in long-running races like this is not too complicated, it is not always easy to execute. At that moment the racers' commitment and skills come into play.
From WOW Cap Istanbul
