PWA World Cup Lake Garda: Michele Becker and Nico Prien on the podium, Cousin wins
Tobias Frauen
· 11.05.2023
What a battle of nerves! Lake Garda is known for its reliable wind system, but just as the PWA Tour returns, Ora and Vento are weakening. After a completely rainy day at the start, it looked like today was the only chance of racing, so the pros got an early start. Grey clouds, cold and wind at the lower limit were nothing like the dolce vita they had hoped for.
The day started well for Michele Becker and Nico Prien, who both won their first race. Prien has given up his job at Starboard to focus more on competition again, Becker has just won the DWC opener and is starting the season with new sponsor Patrik. All Patrik riders received new foils shortly before the World Cup and were reportedly delighted with the performance - and the results so far speak for themselves.
There were initially few surprises in the preliminary round and the subsequent quarter-finals. Local hero Matteo Iachino drove just as confidently as world champion Maciek Rutkowski - who had travelled to the event with a sports psychologist and a caddy, who bobbed around in the cold for hours with spare equipment and a large bag full of food and foil parts. Enrico Marotti, Johan Søe, Amado Vrieswijk and Pierre Mortefon didn't miss a beat either.
Many early starts, repeated wind holes
This was to change in the semi-finals, as were the conditions. Firstly, one start had to be cancelled due to drifting algae, and then wind holes kept appearing throughout the morning. In addition, some drivers showed nerves of steel and produced early starts in abundance. This included the highly motivated newcomer Johan Søe, who was disqualified in the first semi-final. Jordy Vonk and Enrico Marotti also only made it to the B final, although they had certainly hoped for more. Nico Prien and Michele Becker, on the other hand, confidently took second and fourth place and thus made it into the grand final!
In the second semi-final, it looked as if world champion Maciek Rutkowski would not make it into the top 8 either. But on the last lap before the finish, the Pole, who was in fifth place, managed to catch Pierre Mortefon, sending the Frenchman into the losers' final. Third place in this heat went to Will McMillan, a completely unknown name. According to PWA commentator Ben Proffitt, McMillan is a 17-year-old Brit who lives in Australia and competes for Thailand. After the strong performance on Lake Garda, we could be hearing more from sail number THA-1 in the future.
The race organisers' plan was to race the final first in order to be sure of a result. This was because the wind in Torbole had repeatedly weakened in the previous women's races and led to cancellations. This was also the case in the first attempt at the Winners' Final, so the riders in the small final had to start first. Everything went smoothly here, with Enrico Marotti winning ahead of Pierre Mortefon and Ingmar Daldorf.
Michele Becker and Nico Prien on the podium
Around the grand final, a drama unfolded that has rarely been seen on the World Tour. If we counted correctly, the heat had to be cancelled four times - twice due to too little wind and twice due to early starts. The first time Bruno Martini crossed the line too early, the second time the majority of the field - Matteo Iachino, Amado Vrieswijk, Maciek Rutkowski and Will McMillan - were affected. "These are difficult conditions, depending on the angle, you can't just take out speed with the foil," analysed co-commentator Scotty Stallman in the livestream. "It's also the first race of the season, everyone is highly motivated and wants to show how good they are!"
That left just three finalists: in addition to Alexandre Cousin, Nico Prien and Michele Becker were also in contention for the first victory of the year. And - as commentator Ben Proffitt emphasised - in view of the poor forecast, they were also likely to win the event and take the lead in the world rankings. Nico Prien was the first to cross the line and initially led the race, closely followed by Alexandre Cousin. The Frenchman - like Michele Becker on Patrik material - put the pressure on, but Nico initially stayed ahead. After the second gybe, however, Cousin overtook him with impressive speed, and at the next buoy Prien briefly lost his momentum and also had to let Michele Becker pass him. In the end, this meant a double victory for Patrik and two Germans on the podium!
Every women's heat a final
Only eleven women were registered for the World Cup on Lake Garda, so they all took to the course together. So every heat was also a final! Justine Lemeteyer, who had already shown her class at last year's event, took the lead in the first heat. In the second heat, there were similar dramas to the men's race: wind holes, early starts and disqualifications - including two of the favourites, Marion Mortefon and Justine Lemeteyer. In the end, only four women started the race and Femke van der Veen from the Netherlands won.
That was it, the wind died down again around midday and no more runs could be started. The forecast for the next few days also looks anything but promising.
