After three days of light breezes, stable 15 knot winds resulted in an exciting final day at the ISAF Grade 2 Open De España De Match Race. Denmark's Jesper RADICH took full advantage of the improved conditions, having already swept past Rasmus VILTOFT (DEN) in his semi final match, he edged a close final against Eugeny NEVGODNIKOV (RUS).
After both
RADICH and
NEVGODNIKOV had won their semi final matches 2-0, the pair met in the first match of the final on Saturday.
RADICH prevailed to take a 1-0 lead into the final day of racing. Needing just one race for overall victory, the Danish sailor took an early lead in the first race on Sunday. Things went from bad to worse for
NEVGODNIKOV after the Russian received a penalty, but he managed to turn things round after a fantastic second leg, to catch and pass
RADICH and square things up at 1-1. An incredibly tight and high quality deciding race ensued, with
RADICH squeezing over the line, a few metres ahead of
NEVGODNIKOV to win his first ISAF Graded event of the year.
In the petit final, Simon MINOPRIO (NZL) overcame VILTOFT 2-0 to take third place overall.
Open De España De Match Race Results
Final
Jesper RADICH d. Eugeny NEVGODNIKOV, 2-1
Petit Final
Simon MINOPRIO d. Rasmus VILTOFT, 2-0
Semi Final
Jesper RADICH d. Rasmus VILTOFT, 2-0
Eugeny NEVGODNIKOV d. Simon MINOPRIO, 2-0
Open De España De Match Race Final Standings
1. Jesper RADICH (DEN)
2. Eugeny NEVGODNIKOV (RUS)
3. Simon MINOPRIO (NZL)
4. Rasmus VILTOFT (DEN)
5. Jordi CALAFAT (ESP)
6. Manuel WEILLER (ESP)
7. Juan Luis PÁEZ (ESP)
8. Nelson ILHA (BRA)
9. Bosco FERNÁNDEZ (ESP)
10. Gustavo BENAVENT (ESP)
Antonio Lamadrid (As Amended By ISAF). Image:© rcnc.es