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NEUGODNIKOV cleaned up and won five races out of seven, making a splash when he won his first match against America's Cup skipper Paolo CIAN (ITA) of Team Shosholoza.

NEUGODNIKOV, looked like an experienced hand in his first race as it was a forgone conclusion when he crossed the finish line with CIAN questioning whether he was actually in the race. He then went on to win a further four races and secured his spot in the semi-finals along with world #2 Mathieu RICHARD (FRA), CIAN and Staffan LINDBERG (FIN).

CIAN Fights Back

Unfortunately NEUGODNIKOV was unable to maintain his winning form in the first two races against CIAN in the semis. 'I was concentrating on my teams work rather than my opposition' said NEUGODNIKOV. Although CIAN's experienced crew remain undefeated in the semis there is still all to play for. CIAN praised NEUGODNIKOV and said, 'They are a strong team and we must keep fighting.'

It was a similar story for RICHARD and LINDBERG with the Frenchman securing two wins. 'We had an excellent day and of course we are always happy when everything is going so well. Our crew work is great and we hope it continues tomorrow,' said RICHARD. LINDBERG remains positive and said, 'We have been thriving under pressure for the whole of this regatta and we are looking forward to stepping it up a gear.'

It was a disappointing day for Germany's Markus WIESER, who only managed to secure two wins and place seventh overall. 'We are very disappointed, we had some tactical errors in our starts and we were simply not fast enough. This is what happens when you do not compete on the Tour regularly, you simply lack consistency which has been demonstrated by myself,' said WIESER. Sébastien COL (FRA), Michael HESTBEAK (DEN) and Eric MONNIN (SUI) all joined WIESER in the bottom half of the leaderboard.

Semi-Finals

Paolo CIAN (ITA) vs Eugeniy NEUGODNIKOV (RUS), 2-0
Mathieu RICHARD (FRA) vs Staffan LINDBERG (FIN), 2-0

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 6)

World Match Racing Tour Schedule
(2006-2007 Season)

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.

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