SailGP: Two-million-dollar final in sight - preliminary decision in Cádiz?
The penultimate event of the fifth SailGP season will set the course for the battle to reach the two-million-dollar final in Abu Dhabi at the end of November. Will the America's Cup favourites settle it among themselves, or can the Spanish defending champions pull off another coup at their home event in Cadiz this weekend?
The SailGP will be held in Cádiz on 4 and 5 October. At the penultimate event of the fifth SailGP season, there is a lot at stake for the leading teams in the upper house of the World League. The teams from Australia, Great Britain and New Zealand are aiming for strong results their top three positions in the championship defend. Because only a podium finish at the end of the season after the last races in Abu Dhabi will lead to the grand three-race final. Two million US dollars in prize money awaits only the winners.
On course for the final: home game for Los Gallos
Behind the league leaders, Diego Botin's Los Gallos are also looking for another chance in the final. The Spaniards achieved the big SailGP coup last year when they fought their way into the final and then defeated Peter Burling's Black Foils and Tom Slingsby's Bonds Flying Roos. Diego Botin and his wing trimmer followed up their SailGP crowning with their Olympic victory in the 49er two weeks later. It was a golden year for the Spaniards.
Will they be able to build on this form in the final spurt of the current season? That will also depend on the form and fortune of the top three teams and the other players. Most recently, the New Zealanders stumbled badly in the doldrums on Lake Geneva, finishing eighth and losing their lead in the standings to Australia. In the championship standings, Bonds Flying Roos (76 points) lead the way ahead of Team Emirates GBR with helmsman Dylan Fletcher (75 points) and the Black Foils (73 points).
"These are the teams with an America's Cup background and the most experience on two foiling hulls," says German driver Erik Kosegarten-Heil, explaining the quality of the league dominators. But behind the big three, the Spanish defending champions are lurking in fourth place in the standings with 70 points - even without an America's Cup background. Last season, they were the first to break Australia's three-year dominance in the SailGP with their championship coup.
The Spanish special case in the SailGP
In the final sprint, only three points separate Diego Botin, his wing trimmer Flo Trittel, strategist Nicole Van der Velden and their team from New Zealand in third place. Los Gallos have matured into a SailGP power even without Cup expertise. "The Spaniards are a special case, very talented and have been sailing together as a team for four years," explains two-time 49er bronze medallist Erik Kosegarten-Heil. He greatly appreciates his long-time Olympic companion and sparring partner Diego Botin.
For many years, Erik Kosegarten-Heil trained together with his co-skipper Thomas Plößel and the Spaniards Botin and Trittel in the Olympic 49er. Who is Erik Kosegarten-Heil rooting for in the SailGP showdown of season five starting this weekend? "Emotionally, 100 per cent for the Spaniards. But the New Zealanders also deserve it after years of good work and strong performances this year," says the 36-year-old in only his second league season.
Diego Botin himself knows ahead of the SailGP home game in Cadiz: "It's a game that depends on experience and the right understanding. The three teams ahead of us know this game well. I'm sure they will play their cards well." Botin describes his own cards as follows: "We want to put pressure on the other teams, not make any stupid mistakes and utilise our opportunities."
We will go full throttle if we get the chance to take this place in the Grand Final." Diego Botin
Botin freely admitted that the Spanish team in Cádiz is also under pressure. The 31-year-old driver said: "Cádiz has been in the SailGP for so long, we always have so much support here. So we have the pressure of wanting to do well. At the same time, we also have the strength that this city and the fans give us."
SailGP in Andalusia: Light wind weekend ahead
In contrast, the expected wind will not give the teams much strength in the long-standing Andalusian SailGP area. Everything pointed to another light wind test the day before, possibly again with three or four-person crews. In the smallest constellation, Erik Kosegarten-Heil and the German racing team had just the acclaimed first SailGP victory of the German racing team on Lake Geneva.
Kosegarten-Heil described the success as a "nice snapshot", but also noted towards the end of what was only Team Germany's second SailGP season: "That's not where we are at the moment. It's getting better bit by bit, but there's still a long way to go."
The weekend will show where this can lead in Cádiz. The ZDF broadcasts the races in the livestream here on Saturday and Sunday from 3.30 pm. Kristin Recke will be commentating and Alexander Ruda will be on site as a reporter.
