Trophée
Veolia Environnement - Presti beat Molund in a
tight final
Lyon,
the 5th of October Philippe Presti is the
winner of the first Trophée Veolia. The
French champion managed to beat Sweden's Johan
Molund in a tight final. Urkaine's Evgeniy Braslavets
finished in third place beating Australia's Mitch
Booth in another tight match race.
Though
it was very cold today in Lyon, many people came
to the Olympic pool of the nautical centre on
the Rhône bank to watch the finals for the
first Trophée Veolia Environnement.
Racing
started at 14:00 with the quarterfinals. The two
groups sailed four races each in order to determine
the four semi-finalists.
In
group E, Sweden's Johan Molund and Australia's
Mitch Booth dominated the two French contenders,
Christine Briand and Xavier Rohart. The 470 champion
and the Tornado gold silver medallist won two
races each and therefore qualified for the semi
finals.
In
group G, Ukraine's Evgeniy Braslavets has been
most impressive winning three races out of four.
Behind the 470 gold medallist, who was sailing
ahead with a good lead, Britain's Paul Brotherton
and France¹s Philippe Presti fought for the
qualifying second place. In the end, it's the
Frenchman who finished in second place as the
49ner British sailor, who impressed everyone yesterday,
struggled a little bit. "That's life!, said
Brotherton who still enjoyed it. It was great
fun, great boats and a great opportunity to sail
against those we normally don¹t have a chance
to sail again. I hope to come back next year".
France's Michel Desjoyeaux also struggled today
and never managed to really be in the match.
The
four semi-finalists faced each other in a last
fleet racing round. Sweden's Johan Molund sailed
perfectly well in that round winning three of
the four races. France's Philippe Presti also
did a good job and managed to finish in second
place and therefore qualified for the final. Surprisingly,
the two favourites, Australia¹s Mitch Booth
and Ukraine's Evgeniy Braslavets were the ones
who struggled the most. They came third and fourth.
Booth
and Braslavets had to fight for third spot overall
in a best of three match-race. The Australian
managed to snatch victory in the first race but
then lost the second race. In the third race,
the Ukrainian sailor had a good start while Mitch
Booth hit the mark and had to do a penalty turn.
The race was over and it¹s Evgeniy Braslavets
who finished in third place overall. "Unfortunately
I did not sail very well in the semi finals and
lost my chance to win but I'm glad to finish in
third place. It was a very nice and competitive
event", said the 470 gold medallist.
The
best of five match-race final between Johan Molund
and Philippe Presti has been very tight. The Swedish
470 champion started very well as he won the first
two races. But he got penalised at the start in
the third race, which gave the opportunity to
Philippe Presti to go and score his first point.
The Frenchman then snatched victory in the next
two races to become the winner of the first Trophée
Veolia Environnement. "It helps to have experience
in match racing, said Presti. It's been a very
nice event with a very good atmosphere between
the competitors. Besides, it's a great idea to
bring a sailing event in the city. I¹ve signed
more autographs today than during my whole Olympic
campaign". Johan Molund was also very pleased.
"I hope to do it again".
The
public, who stayed until the very end to cheer
the champions, really enjoyed the show.
