Fan driven spectacle

Isabelle Musy reports from Lyon as sailing stars of the worlds race around an Olympic swimming pool

The first round of the Trophée Veolia Environnement saw tight racing in the Olympic pool of Lyon on the Rhône Bank. Eight sailors have qualified for the quarter of finals while the other eight are now out of the competition. Australia's Mitch Booth, Britain's
Paul Brotherton, France's Christine Briand and Urkaine's Evgeniy Braslavets are leading their respective groups.

The first round of the Trophée Veolia Environnement, which started Friday with three races, resumed on Saturday at 14:00. Each group of four champions sailed seven races. The top two of each group are now qualified for the next round. Though the weather was quite chilly today in Lyon, the public came to watch those 16 champions from various sailing disciplines face each other in the tiny SailingCity, a 2.75m long monohull designed especially for this show event.

In group A, France's Christine Briand who managed to finish at the top of the leader board. The J/22 World Champion won five races. "I think that the small and light ones have a big advantage at this game as it¹s easier for them to feel the boat," said Briand. It's been a fierce battle for second place between the two 470 contenders, Sweden's Johan Molund and Israel's Yogev Yosef. The latter was standing in second place on Friday after the first three races, but Johan Molund was better today and therefore
qualified for the next round. "I managed to beat Yogev," explained Molund. "I think the training session I did this morning was very helpful as I've improved my boat handling." Yosef was of course disappointed: "I hate to lose races even when it's only for fun!."

Italy's Larissa Nevierov had fun though she came last as she did not quite manage to sail the boat well.

In group B, it's been really close between Ukraine's Evgeniy Braslavets and France's Philippe Presti who, in the end, finished in second place just one point behind the 470 gold medallist. "It's important to have good starts and to stay clear to avoid penalties. As the pool is very narrow, it's very easy to have a collision", explained the leader of group B. Carolijn Brouwer finished in third place ahead of Swiss trimaran sailor Yvan Bourgnon.

In group C, Austalia's Mitch Booth has been really impressive winning five races. The Tornado silver medallist had brilliant starts. His secret? "Well, what I feel with this boat is that although it's a tiny boat, it has the same characteristics a sailing a 80-footer. It does not feel the same as sailing a dinghy," explained the Aussie sailor with a big smile. "It's great fun, but it's only the first round". Star World Champion Xavier Rohart from France is also qualified for the quarter finals as he finished in second ahead of Belgian's Sébastien Godefroid and Germany's Jochen Krauth.

In group D, Britain's Paul Bortherton was dominating his opponents. The 49ner European Champion, who won five races, was most impressive with the way he was handling his boat. "I tried to stay away from trouble, which I did not manage this as I hit three marks. But it was less than anybody else," explained Brotherton. It's fabulous to get to sail against all those people." It was close between France's Michel Desjoyeaux
and Denmark's Dorte O. Jensen who were fighting for second place. But the Vendée Globe winner managed to score more points and to qualify for the next round. Spain's Monica Azon faced problems with the stronger wind made by the six giant fans at the top mark. The Yngling world champion finished in fourth place.