Extreme 40s rev their engines

Nine teams expected - and one still to be announced - for opening iShares Cup event on Lake Lugano

The first event of the 2008 iShares Cup Sailing Series is just days away and expectations are running high...

Nine Extreme 40s will line up on the stunning Lake Lugano, on the Swiss-Italian border, over 30 May-1 June, and preparations are nearly complete. Expectations are that the action will be intense from the very first start gun as the competition steps up a gear for this season with some big-hitting teams joining the line-up.

The nine boats competing at the first event of the iShares Cup are: America's Cup defender Alinghi; the British and New Zealand crew onboard Team Aqua; BT, skippered by Nick Moloney; the Dutch Holmatro crew; title sponsors iShares and their promising team; JPMorgan Asset Management, skippered by double Olympic gold medallist Shirley Roberston; British America's Cup Challengers TeamOrigin; the Volvo Ocean Race crew from the Netherlands; and one more new entry soon to be announced.

After the pre-season training event in Valencia earlier this month. Andreas Hagara, skipper of Holmatro, said: "I think everyone is going to start aggressively, because especially in the short races you can't afford to hold back, you have to be up there at the first weather mark otherwise you will be lost! I think our preparations are going quite well actually, the result [in Valencia] didn't show how good we are. We are a new team and we need to work on the information and the boat handling, but I think we will be up there next week."

Volvo Ocean Race skipper Herbert Dercksen agreed: 'I think it's going to be full noise from the full start. I've seen boats crash at the first race of the first event before, so we'll just have a look and see what's going on." After taking delivery of a new boat in Valencia, Dercksen says they're now ready to hit the ground running in Lugano, "We basically got the boat sorted out so it's now ready to go. And we'll be arriving in Lugano on Monday so we'll be training there, and see if we can change the result!"

So, who's going to win? Andreas Hagara believes that Alinghi White, who won the Valencia training regatta, will start favourite in Lugano. "I think Alinghi will be the boat to beat, they've spent the most days on the water and they've done the most tuning work with two boats, so they are fast and their teamwork is good after that many days. Ed Baird is a smart sailor, I really enjoyed sailing against him last week, and it will be a good event in Lugano."

But with some very good teams expected on the start line, Herbert Dercksen believes the racing could be very open: "Alinghi put in a very good performance in Valencia and they definitely set a good benchmark, but I think with guys like Robert Greenhalgh, Shirley, and Andy Hagara sailing - they'll give them a good run for their money!"

Shirley Robertson, skipper of JPMorgan Asset Management, has been training hard on her new boat in the UK, and is among the sailors looking forward to going racing for the first time this season. "It is fantastic to finally be out on the water onboard JPMorgan Asset Management," she said. "We have had some great training sessions in the Solent, and we are getting a strong feel for the boat, the potential is certainly there. I have an excellent team around me and we can't wait to get started and take on the rest of the teams in Lugano!"

The boats are on their way to Lugano, and the teams will be working hard to get their Extreme 40s assembled and ready for racing. At this first event the boats and sails will also be measured - the catamarans are 'one-design', so class officials will be on hand to check they are identical. Then on Thursday 29 May guests and journalists will get a chance to sail onboard the Extreme 40s as part of a media preview day.

But the real action begins on 30 May, when three days of fast and furious racing kicks off. From 2.00pm [CET] on Friday until Sunday the iShares Cup racing takes place, with six races scheduled every afternoon - each lasting just 10-15 minutes.

Spectators can find out more about the teams and get a great view of the racing from the regatta village, which is just based at local yacht club Circolo Velico Lago di Lugano. The racecourses will be close to the shore of the lake, so the catamarans will be whizzing past the shore next to the city!

Lugano is the first event on the 2008 iShares Cup Sailing Series, which this year takes in five venues. Dan Kiddle, Head of iShares Sponsorship, Europe, said: "The iShares Cup had a tremendous first year in 2007 and we are looking forward to developing the series into something even bigger and better in year two.

"iShares is expanding rapidly in Europe, so it is crucial that our sponsorship of the event spans our key markets, which the extended 2008 iShares Cup calendar delivers."

The other four events on the iShares Cup calendar are Hyères, France (13-15 June); Skandia Cowes Week in the UK (2-4 August); Kiel, Germany (29-31 August); and the finale in Amsterdam, Netherlands (19-21 September).