On the final day of the Engadinwind.com in Silvaplana the famous Maloja wind finally arrived. In a perfect schedule the organization was able to run the marathon race and additionally two more races for the Windsurfing Euro-Cup. Steve Allen (AUS-0, Tabou, Gaastra), the current Formula Windsurfing World Champion from Australia confirmed his exceptional performance and dominated all the races.
At 12:15 just as planned the famous Marathon Race was started in its 30th edition. In the beginning the wind was quite light but the conditions improved during the race. ³Danish Dynamite² Jesper Vesterström (DEN-111, Starboard, Neil Pryde) had the best start into the race and was leading the fleet after the first lap in front of Nicolas Warenbourg (FRA-531) from France and Wilhelm Schurmann (BRA-999, Starboard, Neil Pryde) from Brasil. But two riders got stronger and stronger during the race and worked their way through the fleet: Steve Allen took the lead on the second upwind and the Argentinean Gonzalo Costa Hoevel (ARG-3, F2, Neil Pryde) was able to move up to the second position after a thrilling fight with Wilhelm Schurmann. Unluckily Gonzalo Costa Hoevels mast broke at the last upwind mark after four and a half of five rounds which forced him to give up the race. So in the end Steve Allen was able to win the Marathon Race with a finish time of 59:00 minutes with a 2-minute-lead on the second placed Jesper Vesterström. Wilhelm Schurmann managed to get third in front of the current RS-X Vice World Champion Przemek Miarczynski (POL-126, F2, Gaastra) and Kasper Juul Larsen (DEN-288, Starboard, Neil Pryde).
As the conditions got better the organization decided to continue with Euro-Cup Formula Racing. In the next race Steve Allen had to fight again for the lead. This time the Brasilian Youngster Gabriel Browne (BRA-5, F2, North Sails) was leading after the first lap. But on the second upwind Allen was dominating and led the race on the second downwind. He scored an unchallenged victory in front of Gonzalo Costa Hoevel. The Argentinean had recovered from his bad luck with the mast in the marathon race and proved that he is one of the best Formula Windsurfing Racers at the moment with his second place. Browne managed to defend his third position against his team mate and mentor Wilhelm Schurman. Przemek Miarczynski confirmed his performance with another top-5 finish.
The wind continued to increase and got more stable. More and more competitors started to change to smaller sails. So another final race was sailed to achieve a discard for the riders. This time the Italian youngster Alberto Menegatti (ITA-456, F2, North Sails) put up a challenge and led the race after the first lap. But again Steve Allen was able to strike back. In the end he completed his triumph by winning the final race as well. Alberto Menegatti defended his second against Gonzalo Costa Hoevel. Gabriel Browne got fourth in front of Jesper Vesterström.
In the final results Steve Allen can present a flawless score of 3.00 points. Jesper Vesterström presented an impressive performance and is safe second with 8.00 points. Wilhelm Schurmann ensures his place on the podium with 10.00 points. Przemek ³Pont² Miarczynski confirmed that he is not only strong on the Olympic board RS-X where he is the current Vice-Worldchampion, but also in the Formula Windsurfing Class. In the end he is fourth with 13.00 points. The top five are completed by Ross Williams (GBR-83, Tabou, Gaastra), the European Formula Windsurfing Champion 2006 with 18.00 points.
The Windsurfing Euro-Cup Silvaplana was a huge success! Although the wind teased the competitors and the organisation for two days the final day were a more then fair revenge. Besides the competition a great program with exhibitions, shows, interviews, music and parties ensured a great entertainment. Competitors and spectators experienced some great days in the beautiful Engadin. So everybody is already looking forward to the Engadinwind 2008!
