The Extreme Sailing Series in Nice saw the victory of the Swiss team Alinghi in the seventh stage, at the end of Sunday’s last races in the Baie des Anges.
Thousands of spectators gathered for four days on the Promenade des Anglais to admire and support the world-class best professional sailing teams. These exceptional teams faced off for 4 days aboard Extreme 40 catamarans to win the different legs, offering fierce fighting for victory.
La Baie des Anges as open-air stadium
The 11 teams of the world’s highest level evolved aboard these seabirds just meters from the Promenade des Anglais and its beautiful pebble beaches, bleached by a blazing sun, unusual for the early autumn.
Throughout the competition, they flew majestically over the blue waters of the Mediterranean. A total of 29 rounds of 15 minutes each were scheduled during the 4 days of the Extremes Sailing Series.
Fight and suspense for final victory
Sunday, October 5, was the last day of competition for Extreme Sailing Series. Threatening thunderstorms, accompanied by a very changeable wind disrupted the navigation conditions. But that hardly impressed the Austrian from Red Bull Sailing Team who boasted a good speed near the coast. They then found themselves propelled from eighth to fourth in the rankings in just seven legs.
Eventually, Roman Hagara and his team missed the podium by only one point and Realteam narrowly missed what would have been its first victory in a stage. Unfortunately for it, all depended of the last leg.
JP Morgan Bar finished third, its second podium of the season. The British progressed in each event. Emirates Team New Zealand get out with a respectable fifth place, allowing them to consolidate their third place in the overall ranking before heading to Sydney. GAC Pindar signed for his best result of the season with a sixth place. The French Franck Cammas finished in 9th position with Groupama Sailing Team.
A win for Alinghi
The Swiss team Alinghi clicnched the final victory against its fellow Realteam in the final leg of the Act 7 of the Extreme Sailing Series.
The Land Rover Price “Above & Beyond Award” is awarded to Suleiman Al Manji, a member of the technical team of Oman Sail who put on the attire of Emirates Team New Zealand to become a full member of the team on the second day of racing in Nice.
A highly disputed Australian podium
The season of 2014 Extreme Sailing Series will end with four days of competition in Sydney, Australia, in early December. After this last event, these are the five teams that will be able to claim a place on the podium: Alinghi, The Wave, Muscat, Emirates Team New Zealand, Realteam and JP Morgan BAR.
The last Act shall decide among these contenders for the title of winner of the Extreme Sailing Series 2014!
Extreme Sailing Series Stage 7 ranking
1st Alinghi (SUI) – Morgan Larson, Anna Tunnicliffe, Pierre-Yves Jorand, Nils Frei, Yves Detrey – 183 points.
2d Realteam by Realstone (SUI) – Jérôme Clerc, Arnaud Psarofaghis, Bruno Barbarin, Bryan Mettraux, Thierry Wasem – 171 points.
3rd J.P. Morgan BAR (GBR) – Ben Ainslie, Nick Hutton, Paul Campbell-James, Bleddyn Mon, Matt Cornwell – 161 points.
4th Red Bull Sailing Team (AUT) – Roman Hagara, Hans-Peter Steinacher, Mark Bulkeley, Thomas Cjakgak, Stewart Dodson – 160 points.
5th Emirates Team New Zealand (NZL) – Peter Burling, Glenn Ashby, Blair Tuke, Jeremy Lomas, Edwin Delaat – 156 points.
6th GAC Pindar (AUS) – Nathan Wilmot, Seve Jarvin, Hugh Styles, Tyson Lamond, James Wierzbowski – 146 points.
7th SAP Extreme Sailing Team (DEN) – Jes Gram-Hansen, Rasmus Køstner, Thierry Douillard, Christian Kamp, Brad Farrand – 145 points.
8th The Wave, Muscat (OMA) – Leigh McMillan, Sarah Ayton, Pete Greenhalgh, Kinley Fowler, Nasser Al Mashari – 143 points.
9th Groupama sailing team (FRA) – Franck Cammas, Tanguy Cariou, Valentin Bellet, Arnaud Jarlegan, Devan Le Bihan – 143 points.
10th Oman Air (OMA) – Rob Greenhalgh, Ted Hackney, Kyle Langford, Hashim Al Rashdi, Musab Al Hadi – 138 points.
11th Gazprom Team Russia (RUS) – Igor Lisovenko, Phil Robertson, Garth Ellingham, Pete Cumming, Aleksey Kulakov – 133 points.
Overall ranking after the 7th stage
1. Alinghi – 65 pts
2. The Wave Muscat – 56
3. Emirates Team New Zealand – 49
4. Realteam – 45
5. J.P. Morgan BAR- 37
6. Red Bull Sailing Team – 30
7. SAP Extreme Sailing Team – 28
8. Oman Air – 24
9. Gazprom Team Russia – 24
10. Groupama – 23
11. GAC Pindar – 11
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