Last test of the season of the Rolex Sail GP with the spectacular Golden Gate in San Francisco as the setting

2023-05-06 10:44:22

06/05/2023

Updated at 10:46 a.m.

This third season has had as main protagonists the first three classified in the general. Australia, who lead the overall with 84 points, are the heavy favorites to clinch the title for the third consecutive season. Despite this, the New Zealand of Peter Burling and Blair Tuke follow close behind with 73 points and will not forgive a stumble from the team led by Tom Slingsby.

Although the advantage of the Australians is important, it is not definitive and the New Zealand team will have to go all out to reduce it. They can still turn around a situation that, taking into account the results of the previous campaign, seemed unthinkable.

Despite the great performance of the New Zealanders, the great revelation of the season has been the French. Quentin Delapierre’s team ended up being the bottom team in the previous campaign and in this season they occupy the third position, surpassing, for the moment, great favorites such as the Emirates team Great Britain, Canada or the United States. In fact, British and French are involved in the fight to get on the podium, separated only by one point of difference in the general classification.

Spain without options to anything

The Spanish team will go all out to finish its second season with a positive result in San Francisco and, in this way, face the start of the following season in the best possible way. It has been a campaign full of emotion and adrenaline that will end with the eleventh Grand Prix. Despite this, it will not be long before the sailors get back on the F50s, since on June 16 Season 4 will begin in the city of Chicago.

The Spanish team will have several novelties in its ranks, María Cantero will be part of the crew of the F50 Victoria for the first time in her career, which will mean her official debut in the competition. The Portuguese Bernardo Freitas and the New Zealander Stewart Dodson will also join the grinder position for this Grand Prix.

Cantero, 24, is one of the athletes with the most projection on the national scene. She was part of the Tokyo 2020 pre-Olympic team and is currently preparing for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. She is a two-time Spanish champion in the 49er FX class (2020 and 2021). She has also excelled at the international level, finishing fifth in the 2021 49er FX World Championship.

Freitas is a sailor with experience on the international circuit, he began his extensive sports career in 2005 and has achieved several notable successes such as first place in The Ocean Race Europe in 2021, he also achieved eighth position in the London 2012 Olympic Games representing Portugal in the 49er FX category. Dodson, for his part, is also a sailor with an impressive track record. The New Zealander has shown his excellent abilities since he started his career in 2010. He has achieved five international and seven national titles in different categories.

The Spanish captain, Diego Botin, has spoken at the press conference prior to the Grand Prix and has been optimistic about the future of the Spanish team: “We are going in the right direction, we have good people in the team and we believe that the results will come sooner rather than later” . He also wanted to highlight the objectives of the Spanish in San Francisco: “We want to give our best and see where it takes us” added Booty.

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