SailGP: Brilliant comeback victory for Australia in Chicago: Tom Slingsby: "We are not unbeatable"

If you cross the start line in the triple final at zero and ten kilometres per hour faster than your two rivals, then you're already halfway to winning the regatta in the SailGP. If you then pass the first mark with a lead, a team like Team Australia usually crosses the finish line in the same way. This was once again the case at the second SailGP regatta of the third season in Chicago. Tom Slingsby, two-time World Sailor of the Year, and his Green and Yellows continue to set the tone in the professional series for one million US dollars in prize money, which goes to the winners at the end of the season. The impressive sailing show on Lake Michigan got off to anything but a promising start for the Australians. In the first of the five fleet races leading up to the final, the team from Down Under failed to finish higher than seventh in the elite fleet of nine teams. The Australians slipped up even more badly at the start of day two in the fourth race. They only crossed the finish line in last place. "We could already see our chances of winning fading," said helmsman Slingsby later, almost a little astonished at the comeback that followed.

The missteps did not affect the subscription winners in the SailGP. "The team performed superbly under pressure," said Slingsby, describing one of his team's many winning qualities. After the setback in race four, Team Australia paved their way into the final of the top three teams with a victory in race five at a crucial time. With a significantly better overall result after the five fleet races, Canada impressed the competition. The newcomers to the SailGP with the strong Kiwi Phil Robertson at the helm shone in the fleet races with 4th, 1st, 2nd, 2nd and 2nd places and sailed into the triple final as fleet race winners, for which Sir Ben Ainslie and Team Great Britain also qualified with the series 2, 3, 2, 3 and 5. In the tri-meet, the Australians showed why they are the SailGP champions to beat with outstanding positioning, the ability to switch quickly and top speeds. Slingsby explained that his team had wanted to start at the pin end. When that wasn't possible, they just decided to at least cross the line at the fastest speed. The endeavour was a masterful success. The Slingsby crew won the USA SailGP on Lake Michigan in the final ahead of Canada and Great Britain.

The second win of the season and the fifth regatta victory in a row does not lead to exuberance for America's Cup winner, Olympic champion and Moth World Champion Tom Slingsby. When asked who could stop his team, the down-to-earth 37-year-old said: "I can see a few. We are not unbeatable. We also had a bit of luck. The Canadians clearly beat us in the fleet races here in Chicago. The British are also sailing strongly." The Canadians, who have only just entered the SailGP as a team, are likely to be the happiest, having already shaken the Australians' throne with their driver Robertson and beaten Sir Ainslie's America's Cup chasers to third place in the USA. Click here for the results in the SailGP (please click!). Anyone who would like to see the events of day two, including the final, again, finds the repetition here.