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CIAN and his Team Shosholoza crew Pierluigi FORNELLI (ITA), Santino BRIZZI (ITA), Pierluigi FELIO (ITA) and Pietro MANTOVANI (ITA) finished with a 13 -5 record and won Euro 4,800 of the Euro 20,000 prize purse.

Shifty conditions with gusty 10 to 15 knot winds challenged the finalists and were significant in the tight races that were displayed. However, it was a tacking duel in both races that allowed CIAN to display his skill as an America's Cup helmsman. 'My team has done a good job in learning the legs, the shifts, the path and the boat. Every match racer has his own story and every stage of the match makes a difference,' said the Italian skipper.

Out Muscled

RICHARD had a sound performance overall, winning almost every race going in to the final, but it was CIAN's team who were superior on the day. 'My team is a little stronger and I feel this was an advantage in dealing with the ever changing wind conditions,' said CIAN.

RICHARD congratulated his opponent and praised his team mates for all their hard work. 'It has been a busy couple of weeks having come straight from LA where we won the Congressional Cup to here and coming second, we are thrilled with our achievements,' said RICHARD.

Despite coming second, RICHARD has earned enough points to secure the number one spot on the World Match Racing Tour leaderboard. He currently leads with 70 points. He is closely followed by CIAN with 66 points, whilst the #1 in the ISAF World Match Race Rankings, Ian WILLIAMS, slips in to third place with 62 points.

The petit-final saw Staffan LINDBERG (FIN) of Alandia Sailing Team take on Eugeniy NEUGODNIKOV's (RUS) team Lord of the Sail. 'It was simply not my day,' said NEUGODNIKOV who lost both his races to take the fourth spot and a prize fund of Euro 2,000.

Final

Paolo CIAN (ITA) d. Mathieu RICHARD (FRA), 2-0

Petit-Final

Staffan LINDBERG (FIN) d. Eugeniy NEUGODNIKOV (RUS), 2-0

Semi-Finals

Paolo CIAN (ITA) d. Eugeniy NEUGODNIKOV (RUS), 3-1
Mathieu RICHARD (FRA) d. Staffan LINDBERG (FIN), 3-0

Quarter-Final Round Standings
(7/7 Flights)

1. Mathieu RICHARD * (FRA), Saba Sailing Team, 6-1
2. Eugeniy NEUGODNIKOV* (RUS), Lord of the Sail, 5-2
3. Paolo CIAN* (ITA), Shosholoza, 4-3
4. Staffan LINDBERG* (FIN), Alandia Sailing Team, 4-3
5. Michael HESTBEAK (DEN), 4-3
6. Sébastien COL (FRA), Areva Challenge 3-4
7. Markus WIESER (GER), 2-5
8. Eric MONNIN (SUI), 0-7

*Advances to Semi-Final Round

Round Robin Standings

Group A1
(5/5 Flights)

1. Sébastien COL (FRA), 4-1
2. Eric MONNIN (SUI), 3-1
3. Mathieu RICHARD (FRA), 4-1
4. Eugeniy NEUGODNIKOV (RUS), 3-2
5. Carsten KEMMLING (GER), 1-4
6. Wearn Haw TAN (SIN), 0-5

Group A2
(5/5 Flights)

1. Paolo CIAN (ITA), 4-1
2. Markus WIESER (GER), 4-1
3. Staffan LINDBERG (FIN), 2-3
4. Björn HANSEN (SWE), 2-3
5. Michael HESTBEAK (DEN), 2-3
6. Ian WILLIAMS (GBR), 1-4

ISAF Match Racing World Championship Standings
(After Stage 7)

The World Match Racing Tour is an ISAF Special Event. Skippers earn points towards the World Championship at the nine events of the World Tour and the highest scoring skipper at the end of the season is the ISAF Match Racing World Champion.

The World Tour Partner and Official Car is BMW AG (Munich, Germany). World Tour sponsors include Sebago (Rockford, USA), the Official Footwear Supplier, Travel Places (West Sussex, Great Britain), the Official Travel Partner and Wedgwood (Cheshire, Great Britain) the Official Trophy Supplier.

For more information on the World Match Racing Tour, its competitors and events, visit the official World Tour website - www.WorldMatchRacingTour.com. World Match Racing Tour television programmes may be viewed on demand by clicking on the television icon on the home page of the website.

For all the news on the World Match Racing Tour CLICK HERE.