Champion of champions

Sailing stars pitch up for the 19th Trophée Clairefontaine, to take place in Valencia this weekend

Front row: Nicolas Charbonnier ; Claire Leroy ; Rita Barberá Nollá, Valencia Mayor and Loïck Peyron. Back row: left to right: Jean-Pierre Dick ; Fernando León ; Michel Desjoyeaux ; Ed Baird and Luc Dubois


The eight international sailing stars invited to race the 19th running of the Trophée Clairefontaine champion of champions event arrived in Valencia (Spain) and are getting ready for the competition that is to take place on the Marina Real Juan Carlos 1st, otherwise known as Port America's Cup where the new Formula 1 European Grand Prix was recently staged.

The Trophée Clairefontaine de Valencia will be raced on Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September inside this world-famous natural Sailing Stadium.

Rita Barberá Nollá, Valencia's Mayor, welcomed the crews and the presidents of the French and Spanish Sailing Federations in the City Hall at 1.30pm at their arrival on
the Valencian soil: "Valencia is a forward-looking city, building its development on Culture and on Sport. Therefore, it was natural to host such an exceptional event reuniting some of the best sailing champions, including the winner of the last America's Cup raced here. This Trophée Clairefontaine de Valencia is a true nautical show right in the middle of the city, close to the public and free of access. I'm glad that each start will be preceded by an operatic aria so as to reunite Culture and Elite Sport in a single space for the pleasure of the public".

Two crews from Alinghi will welcome the six other champions including Michel Desjoyeaux who won his fourth Trophée Clairefontaine last September.

The Alinghi Black crew is composed of the American Ed Baird, helmsman when Alinghi won the America's Cup last year. Baird also won the 1995 America's Cup with the New Zealander Team and eight world titles in different sailing classes. Last year, Ed Baird became ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year.

The Swiss Alinghi Red crew finished second in the 2007 Trophée Clairefontaine in its normal home of La Trinité-sur-Mer. This comprises Luc Dubois at the helm, Pierre-Yves
Jorand tactician and mainsheet trimmer and Yves Detrey bowman.

Loïck Peyron, seven times winner of the Trophée Clairefontaine and third in 2007, just two points behind Team Alinghi, will also compete in this regatta which marks the Papeteries de Clairefontaine's (Clairefontaine Stationary) 150th anniversary.

Fernando León, Tornado Olympic Gold medallist in Atlanta, will represent Spain.
León has already participated in the Trophée Clairefontaine three times, twice
as crew man of the double Gold medallist Theresa Zabell and is Patron of this Trophée
Clairefontaine de Valencia.

Frenchman Jean-Pierre Dick was part of the 2006 Trophée Clairefontaine after
his victory in the Transat Jacques Vabre. This year, he is invited after his
first place earlier this year in the Barcelona World Race.

French match racer Claire Leroy is invited for the first time to this event bringing
together international sailing stars thanks to her World and European Match Racing
titles, and her first position in the Women Match Racing World Ranking (for two
years now) and for her becoming 2007 ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year alongside Ed Baird.

Nicolas Charbonnier, has just won a Bronze medal in 470 in the Beijing Olympic Games with his crew Olivier Bausset, and is the eighth competitor in this year's event. It is the first time that he has joined this exclusive club.

This afternoon, the eight champions took to their catamarans to practice on the marina. Tomorrow, eight races are scheduled for the Warm-up Rhodia between 3.00pm and 5.00pm. The results of this warm-up won't be taken into account in the overall results, but it will give a good idea of what is going to happen over the weekend on the water. The competition will officially start at 12.00 on Saturday for the Challenge Quo Vadis and the Copa Valencia Yacht Base. It will conclude on Sunday at 1500 with the podium presentations to be held in front of the futuristic Veles & Vents building.

Since its origins, in 1990, the Trophée Clairefontaine has been held in one design 7.65m long catamarans .