SailGP: Match racing ace Canfield puts on a brilliant display in the Valencia short programme

Team Germany’s total race time over the entire SailGP weekend in Valencia was 2,255 seconds. To put it another way: in just four short group races at the Spanish Sail Grand Prix, Erik Kosegarten-Heil’s crew clocked up a total net sailing time of just 37 minutes and 35 seconds. Not enough, according to not only the German skipper.

Los Gallos in SailGP: first a gala performance, then they missed out on the final

Following three light-wind races on Saturday in the 2007 America’s Cup host city, the SailGP debut saw most teams compete in just one more short race on Sunday. By then, the line-up for the final four had already been decided. This drastically shortened programme took the wind out of the sails of the home team in particular.

Los Gallos remained in commanding form on Saturday, securing two wins and a second place across three races the best team of the day, stumbled in the only Sunday race, crossed the finish line last – and just like that, their entirely justified hopes of reaching the final were dashed.

“We were well ahead after day one. We wanted to win the final here in Valencia. We had incredible support, which is why it hurts all the more.” Diego Botin

As there were no further races, there was no longer any chance of a comeback. Los Gallos had to concede the run-in to the final to the Danish team Rockwool Racing, as they were level on points. In the same Group B, the Americans had also qualified as the top team, whilst Diego Botin, Flo Trittel, Nicole van der Velden, her crew and the Spanish fans lamented the extreme SailGP short programme in the light winds.

SailGP league matches and their implications for group sailing

Erik Kosegarten-Heil, who made a fine comeback with Team Germany by finishing second in Sunday’s sole group race, said: “We had points to make up and would have liked to have sailed on. Four races in total are not enough to determine a worthy winner.”

But in SailGP, when conditions are adverse – such as just a handful of knots of wind and the need to reschedule – they don’t hesitate for long. If only one race can be held before the final, then that’s all there will be. In the other Group A, Red Bull Italy (1, 1, 7, 1) posted a very similar record to the Spanish team who missed out on the final (1, 1, 2, 6).

However, because there was one more team (7 instead of 6) competing in Group A and the crews’ more inconsistent performances resulted in a slightly more even group standings, 15 points were enough for Red Bull Italy to win the group, whilst 14 points were enough to prevent the Spanish team from qualifying as one of the top two from each of the two groups. That’s how brutally close it is in SailGP.

Team Germany’s strategy: less theory, more execution

In Group A of the light-wind races at the Rolex SailGP in Spain, Australia’s Bonds Flying Roos became the second team to qualify for the semi-finals. Team Germany missed out on the final, finishing fourth out of the six F50 foilers in Group B. With half as many points as the Spanish team, the Black-Red-Gold squad would also have liked to have carried their campaign further.

Speaking in Valencia on Sunday evening, Erik Kosegarten-Heil gave a candid initial assessment: “Overall, we’re still feeling rather disappointed. That wasn’t necessarily down to us alone. We’ve only sailed a few races, had technical problems with the boat and, as a result, haven’t really managed to get very far up the field.” Did the intensive work on the Achilles tendon during the starts over the past few weeks and months have an impact?

The helmsman replied with a smile: “I think so. We can’t see it yet – we haven’t had many starts. But overall, it’s already made a difference. I think we’ll continue to focus more on the actual execution in future, and less on theories about the build-up to the start. That worked very well.” Just how well things went on Sunday, can be seen here in the repeat of the ZDF live broadcast.

Canfield and Co. checkmate the ‘Flying Kangaroos’ in Flute Chess

​In the closely contested final, after several lead changes, the Americans, with match racing ace Taylor Canfield at the helm, came out on top. The former world champion in match racing and his crew outmanoeuvred Australia’s “Flying Kangaroos” in light winds with a strong last-minute counter-attack following several lead changes. The Italians and Danes, the Europeans who were defeated on this occasion, crossed the finish line next.

“It’s always great to win after coming from behind. But beating this team is brilliant.” Taylor Canfield

In Valencia, a recurring theme that has run like a common thread through the entire season was once again evident: not once in this sixth SailGP season has a team managed to win its home race. Not the Spanish team in Valencia, not the Australians – who have already won five times this year – nor any other team. The Swiss team led by Sébastien Schneiter will have their last chance to break this losing streak in 2026, in two weeks’ time on Lake Geneva.

Following the Alpine Summit, and thus the fourth European event Portsmouth, Sassnitz And the Germany SailGP Team by Deutsche Bank is also looking forward to Valencia with optimism. When the action gets underway on Lake Geneva on 19 and 20 September, Erik Kosegarten-Heil and his crew will have fond memories of the venue, as it was here in 2025 that they celebrated their historic first event victory in the SailGP World League.

Rolex Switzerland Sail Grand Prix: back to the top

Erik Kosegarten-Heil and his crew are heading into the Swiss SailGP event with a fair bit of optimism. The skipper told ZDF: “Geneva will bring back fond memories for us. That’s where we secured our massive victory in 2025. It’s not a place we don’t enjoy being in.” The skipper also thinks the prospect of another light-wind venue is “cool”.

"We’re not averse to light winds at the moment." Erik Kosegarten-Heil

Australia’s Bonds Flying Roos (85 points) may well remain top of the table until the end of the season, ahead of Los Gallos (68) and the US team (56), who have moved up following their victory over Valencia. Team Germany are in eighth place with 35 points. There are three events remaining for all those still harbouring hopes of reaching the grand final on 29 November in Abu Dhabi.

At the end of the year, in that all-deciding race, the season-long points totals of the top three drivers will be reset to zero. The winner will pocket two million US dollars – the league’s biggest prize – from a total prize fund of 12.8 million US dollars distributed throughout the year.

And here’s what the skippers had to say after the SailGP final in Valencia: