Rough and tough
It’s been a changeable week: the wind, the weather, the water, and we’ve been spoiled with the varied conditions that have tested the riders’ range of skills. Torbole 2021 has seen great racing every day except for day 1 when the wind was mostly absent. But nothing changes the strength and magic of Techno 293OD, the biggest, most dynamic class in windsurfing anywhere in the world today.
Today was the penultimate day of competition, a frustrating day for all the fleets as they struggled with a wind that was variable, both in its strength and direction, conditions that led the race committee to wait for something better during the afternoon. The conditions led to some unforeseen shifts in the podium places with just one more day to go before the new World Champions are crowned.
The U13s, the new category at these championships, have enjoyed their 12 races so far, especially Italy’s Mathias Bortolotti, who has led from the start. But he’s under serious threat from his team mate Perluigi Caproni, with less than 1 point separating them after today’s results. They’re comfortably clear of Germany’s Moritz Schleicher in 3rd place and the top placed girl, Medea Marisa Falcioni, is still in with a chance of making the podium, currently lying 6th.
The U15 girls have finished 13 races, with the top 3 pulling clear of the rest. Poland’s Maria Rudowicz is looking good for the top spot, with Spain’s Azul Sanchez Vallejo overtaking Italy’s Anna Polettini in the battle for 2nd and 3rd. The U15 Boys, on the water when racing was abandoned, have completed 12 rounds. It’s looking good for Israel’s Itamar Levi who has led from the start, and Russia’s Dmitrii Nesterenko has steadily strengthened his grip on 2nd. Behind them the strongest finishers look to be Poland’s Jakob Guzlecki and Turkey’s Artun Senol, 3rd and 4th respectively with one more day to go.
In the U17 Girls category, overnight leader Kristyna Chalupnikova (Czech Republic) saw her narrow advantage disappear with the wind as she slipped back to 3rd place, she’s now 1 point behind Barbara Winau Ordinas (Spain) in 2nd, but the momentum is with another Czech rider, Nela Sadilkova who’s 5 race wins have sailed her to the top of the rankings. Meanwhile, it was all-change again for the U17 Boys, Italy’s Federico Alan Pilloni claiming 3 race victories on the day to move him back into the lead. Greece’s Meletios Kalpogiannikis has reclaimed 2nd place, with overnight leader Britain’s Boris Shaw drawing a blank and slipping back to 3rd, a single point ahead of Italy’s Alessandro Graciotti. All the U17s have completed 13 races.
It's going to be a busy and action packed final day on Saturday, there could be many more changes to the podiums in the final rounds. The race committee have called for a 9.00am start, conditions permitting, to be able to cram all the races in in time for the prize giving ceremony at the end of the day.