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2010 Almanarre, Hyeres, Women’s Slalom World Tour Final – Day Five
09.09.2010
Valerie
Arrighetti claims the final event trophy of the year at the first ever
all-women’s event in Almanarre, but it’s Karin Jaggi who takes home the 2010
world title on a perfect day on the Mediterranean coast.
Wall to
wall sunshine and strong winds paved the way for champagne sailing on the final
day of the women’s slalom season in Almanarre, allowing for the maximum number
of eliminations to be raced in glamorous conditions.
The
first few heats began in fairly light winds, but the rest were sailed like a
white-knuckle ride, with plenty of crashes and hell raising top speeds. Races
four, five, and six were the usual split fleet affair, with the top five from
the first two heats going on to fight it out in the final. Race seven however
was something special, which required a slightly different set of skills, to end
the 2010 tour in spectacular style.
Arrighetti Holds All The Aces
The
2009 world champion, Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou, Loft, Mystic) began the day in
the perfect way to keep her immaculate event record showing a fistful of firsts.
However, her nearest rival and current tour leader, Karin Jaggi (Patrik,
Severne) kept piling on the pressure finishing just behind her to remain in
contention. In third Lise Vidal (Exocet, North) showed off her skills to walk
away with her best result of the week.
The
Young Guns Steal The Show
The
second sensational slalom saw Arrighetti go over early in her first faux pas of
the event, clearing the way for Jaggi to take the advantage. However, a handful
of youngsters led by the rising French star, Alice Arutkin (Starboard, North) -
who hadn’t scored a bullet since Korea – stopped the legend in her tracks
forcing her to settle for fourth. Following in Arutkin’s wake was the 2010
freestyle world champion, Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard, Gaastra), and
transatlantic hopeful Sarah Hebert (Naish, Naish) who both held off advances
from the former world champion to finish in second and third
respectively.
Jaggi Reaffirms Her Dominance
In the
third race of the day, Jaggi pulled out all the stops, and with Arrighetti back
in the winner’s final battle, stamped her authority on the entire fleet. The
Swiss national was obviously enjoying the stronger winds, gritting her teeth and
closing the slot to claim a convincing victory. Olivia Piana (Exocet, Loft) also
found her form, fighting her way to an impressive second place, whilst local
hero Fanny Aubet (JP, NeilPryde) crossed the line just behind. Arrighetti may
have only finished fifth in this race, but with her almost perfect previous
scores she’d done enough to secure the final crown of the
season.
A
Final Full Fleet Showdown
Despite
both the event crown and the title having already been determined, the all
women’s finale finished in fine style with a full fleet battle featuring the
fastest females on the planet. Race director, Juan Antonio Aragon and his team
set a huge first leg, forcing the racers to attack the course from a different
angle. Speed and endurance proved key to success, as did the ability to keep the
board on the water in the rough conditions. The start was spectacular with
seventeen sailors pushing as hard as they could, but it didn’t take long for the
current tour leader to edge ahead and take the lead. Full of confidence from her
previous win, Jaggi held her position ahead of Hebert and Piana to finish the
season on a high at the front of the fleet.
Results
1st Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou, Loft,
Mystic)
2nd Karin Jaggi (Patrik, Severne)
3rd Alice Arutkin (Starboard, North)
4th Sarah Hebert (Naish, Naish)
5th Lise Vidal (Exocet, North)
2010
Overall Rankings
After
four events around the globe, Karin Jaggi and Valerie Arrighetti finished the
season on equal points forcing the tie break rules to come into effect. With two
firsts a piece it came down to which sailor had the highest number of the next
best thing. Jaggi had two seconds whereas Arrighetti had only a second and a
‘did not compete’ (Korea), making Jaggi the clear champion for
2010.
1st Karin Jaggi (Patrik, Severne)
2nd Valerie Arrighetti (Tabou, Loft,
Mystic)
3rd Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard,
Gaastra)
4th Alice Arutkin (Starboard, North)
5th Sarah Hebert (Naish, Naish)
Champion Sound
Karin
Jaggi
“I’m
absolutely stoked that I’ve won the world title this year, especially with it
being on my new Patrik boards. It’s great for us to have won a world title in
the brand’s first year. It was really close with Valerie, and in the end it came
down to the discard, and the event that she missed. But, I think that’s all part
of racing – you have to be prepared to go to all of the events, and give it 100%
at every possible opportunity.
I’ve
had a great time at this all-women’s final this week, despite starting it off
with an illness. The strong winds made today really enjoyable, and the last race
in particular was amazing with the very long first leg. I think it’s been an
excellent end to a spectacular year on the women’s slalom tour, and this has
been the best event by far! It was a little bit unfortunate that it clashed with
a few other events around the world, so not everyone could join in, but I hope
we can have the same event on the calendar next year, and that everyone will
come.
I
intend to continue racing on the tour in 2011, so you’ll see me back defending
this world title. I’m going to be working on a few extra boards with Patrik
Diethelm, so I should have a better set up. And, I’m sure my Severne sails will
continue to evolve over the winter, so they should be even better
too.”
Live
GPS Tracking
The
women were tracked around the racecourse by My Geo Live all week. Check out all
seven eliminations HERE
if you missed them.
Keep
in the groove
For
more information on all the entrants, and to keep up to date with every piece of
the action, click on www.pwaworldtour.com
Here
you can use our:
• Live
ticker service for heat-by-heat bulletins
• Check
live elimination ladders
• View
results
• Read
daily news summaries
•
Browse awesome action photo galleries
Or for
more information, please contact the PWA office via info@pwaworldtour.com
PWA/Paul
Griffiths
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