Annual Ranking after 2 events:
…men
…boards
…sails
– Already 121 different competitors on the list –
– Steve Allen in the lead –
– Starboard and Fanatic in a head to head fight in the Boards Ranking –
– Neil Pryde dominating the Manufacturers Ranking – Sails –
The Windsurfing Euro-Cup continues its success also in the season 2003. The first two events took place in Porto Santo / Madeira (Portugal) and Malcesine / Lake Garda (Italy). A total of 22 spectacular races have been sailed and 121 different competitors can be found in the Annual Ranking List already.
Steve Allen (AUS-0, Fanatic, Neil Pryde) is leading the Ranking after Malcesine. He gets advantage out of his consistent performance with a 3rd place at the kick off event in Porto Santo and a 4th position at the regatta in Malcesine. With a total of 235 points he has a small lead of two points in front of his Fanatic team mate Arnon Dagan (ISR-1, Fanatic, Neil Pryde). The racing expert from Israel had a brilliant start into the season with a 2nd place in Porto Santo. After an unlucky beginning in Malcesine he came back and top finished 7th which results in his 233 points in the annual ranking list. On the third place we find the best Starboard and Gaastra rider with Danish Dynamite Brian Roegild (DEN-173, Starboard, Gaastra). He benefits from his consistent top-10 results with a 7th and a 9th position and has a total of 226 points. On his heals he has the Dutch double pack F2 team rider Ramses Landman (NED-72, F2, Neil Pryde) and Ben van der Steen (NED-57, Fanatic, Neil Pryde) from the Fanatic team. Both have a total of 224 points. Only by the tie break rules Ramses is able to slip in the front. The winners of the first two events Kevin Pritchard (USA-3, Starboard, Gaastra) and Wojtek Brzozowski (POL-10, Starboard, Neil Pryde) both suffer from a lack of results as they both missed one event. So they have to accept a lower top-10 position for the moment.
The Manufacturers Rankings are getting more and more important for the windsurfing brands. Already 10 board manufacturers and 12 sail brands have joined the challenge.
The Manufacturers Ranking – Boards presents an exciting head to head fight of Starboard and Fanatic. Starboard benefits from its strength in the past and has the biggest base of competitors. Fanatic has put big investments into the racing scene which seem to pay of now. They have developed a very competitive board and build up a strong team. Both manufacturers were able to win one Euro-Cup. Fanatic was dominating in Porto Santo while Starboard was able to strike back in Malcesine. Both have 239 points and only by the tie break rules Starboard is able to stay in the lead. Another fight can be seen for the third position: F2 and AHD show strong performance and good results. Both have 234 points but F2 is able to slip ahead by the tie break rules.
The Manufacturers Ranking – Sails is clearly dominated by Neil Pryde. They have been able to win both of the first two Windsurfing Euro-Cups and lead the list with the maximum of 240 points. Neil Pryde has the biggest base of competitors and many of the top racers use their sails. Gaastra can be found in the second place. They had a second place in Porto Santo but slipped with a third place in Malcesine which grants Neil Pryde a 3 points lead ahead of Gaastra with 237 points. Although the sails seem to be very competitive Gaastra suffers from a serious lack of top racers representing their sails in the competition. North Sails is back in the top racing business: With a brilliant 2nd place in Malcesine they are able to collect 235 points and manage to stay ahead of Yes Sails who have the same points but are defeated by the tie break rules.
Thousands of people followed the competitions online. Mostly over the official EC Website www.euro-cup.org and the FW Class Website www.formulawindsurfing.org. But many other websites covered the event additionally. Several international Media and Magazines are reporting over the Windsurfing Euro-Cup series.
The next Windsurfing Euro-Cup will take place in Cagliari/Sardinia from Mai 29th to May 31st. Then all the top racers of the World will cross their swords in the hot Italian sun of the mediteranean island. Then the Annual Rankings will get event more exciting as the competitors get their first discard and are able to throw out their worst result. This will bring the racers much closer together and will concentrate the focus on the favourites who need more results at the moment.
You can find more information, results, pictures etc. and follow the competitions online on the official Website of the Windsurfing Euro-Cup www.euro-cup.org and on the FW Class Website www.formulawindsurfing.org .
