World Cup Pozo: Marotti and Alabau maintain overall lead in the slalom, Jordy Vonk wins elimination on the Finn

Four more eliminations were held today for the men and five for the women. While it was still moderate at the beginning of the day with twenty to twenty-five knots (by Pozo standards), the foils dominated in each case.
Whether a Finn would even make it into the final was a question that was asked during the first heats. On the way from the starting line to the first buoy, things looked mostly even, but then a small wind hole, and bang, the Finn parks up while the foils fly away - and then the final is over. the well-known tragedy.

Marotti, Alabau, Rutkowski, Marion Mortefon - these are Top riders who rely on foiling and have so far delivered consistently in Pozo.
But breakaways like Sarah-Quita Offringa, Jordy Vonk, Amado Vrieswijk and Jenna Gibson made it particularly exciting today. As the wind picked up towards the evening, Offringa and Vonk were both able to win the last eliminations of the day on the Finne. Jenna Gibson was also really fast on the Fin, but it wasn't to be her day as she crashed at the last buoy in two important races.
Daredevil Amado Vrieswijk stayed true to his foil and proved that he is one of the fastest - If he didn't have a false start and didn't crash, then he won. All or nothing was his motto.
Matteo Iachino made a quick switch to the Finn for the last final of the day and finished second behind Vonk. The Finn fans in particular were able to go to bed with peace of mind after this spectacular end to the fourth day in Pozo.

The two Germans, Nico Prien and Michele Becker, slipped back a little in the overall standings today, but with Nico in fifth place and Michele in ninth place, both are still in the top 10. Both are riding outstanding races and are consistently within striking distance of the top.

The duel between the systems remains interesting

"I know exactly where the limit is so that I can be competitive on the Finn: I have to be really, really powered up with 6.8sqm," says Jordy Vonk. That was probably the case in the last elimination of the day - he was a long way ahead of the foils. After being left behind several times during the day in slightly lighter winds, he was visibly delighted after his victory in the evening.
A race on the fin is much more physically demanding than on the foil. On the other hand, the mental aspect plays a greater role when foiling (especially in stronger winds and swells), as the rider has to be highly focussed at all times in order to keep the foil in the water and control it in an already tense competition situation.

We are curious to see how things will continue over the next few days. Will the wind be so strong that the foil specialists get into trouble, or will Marotti and co. safely foil the thing home?

We'll keep you up to date with all the latest news from the World Cup Pozo. Stay tuned!