Nicolò Renna still second at the iQFoil European Championships

Posted by RIWmag on 20 May 2022 /

Nicolò Renna still second at the iQFoil European Championships in Torbole
Solid leadership at the European iQFoil in Torbole: the Dutch Luuc Van Opzeeland and the British Emma Wilson in command with detachment
On Saturday the first ten who will access the medal series are decided
The Italian Nicolò Renna maintains with a fair margin the second position, in front of the French Goyard
Marta Maggetti recovers one more position and is tenth

Nago-Torbole (TN) – Another wonderful day on Garda Trentino for the decisive days of the European Championships of the new iQFoil Olympic class, organized by Circolo Surf Torbole in collaboration with the International class and the Italian Sailing Federation, and scheduled until Sunday. Still hot, sun and wind from the south on the 12-18 nodes, which allowed the Race Committee to plan further 4 course race regattas, on the second day of the "final series" with the fleets divided into gold and silver.

Male category
One day from the last regattas that will decide the first ten who will access the final on Sunday, important scores and gaps are beginning to be highlighted among the first of the general classification, as in the male category, with the inexorable race of the Dutchman Luuc Van Opzeeland, which even today has placed partial summit (two first and two thirds), stretching on opponents.

They are in fact 24 the points of advantage from the still very good Nicolò Renna (under 21 last season), still second despite some ups and downs: started with a sixth of the day, made a fourteenth, a splendid first overall and a twenty-ninth (discarded). Remains ahead of goyard'French, who has not maintained the regularity necessary to try to attack the local and bearer of the Circolo Surf Torbole Nicolò Renna: after a second he was forced to retire in the second round of the day, recovering with a sixth, but suffering a disqualification for early departure in the fourth and last round.

The points that divide the Italian from the Olympic silver French are just under 12, while the fourth, the British Sills is in 13 points from the third. First under 21 the Dutch Max Castelein, a confirmation that the Dutch tradition in windsurfing, scored in the very first Olympics by the gold of Los Angeles Stephan Van den Berg and resumed by the two-time Olympic gold medalist (London and Rio) Dorian Van Rijsselberghe, current president of the iQFoil class, as well as from Tokyo gold Kiran Badloe, continues decidedly at the height!
(Click on chart to enlarge / desktop only)

As for the other Italians not an excellent day for Luca Di Tomassi, which is still kept in the medal series area: is tenth after a 19-16-47-28. Daniele Benedetti also drops a few positions, twenty-third after the last two negative races (31-31-63-55).

Female category
The women's regatta field, located further north than males, had a lighter wind on the 12 nodes. Even among women the leader of the general classification seems to have literally taken flight: the British Emma Wilson leads with 20 points ahead of French defending champion Hélène Noesmoen, who instead is in parity with the Polish Maja Dziarnowska.

La Wilson, committed to RS:X for Tokyo where he won the bronze medal, seems to have immediately taken the right feeling with the iQFoil: in today's four course races he has achieved a 3-1-2, with an early start discarded in the last test, while Noesmoen'French was less regular with 24-2-DNF-11. On a positive day the Polish Dziarnowska, that after a thirteenth has remained in the top 5 with a 4-1-4. The Israeli Peleg, Fifth absolute, is first in the under category 21.

Another good day for the italian Marta Maggetti, which is tenth, but still too swinging to attack the first positions: after an eighteenth, managed to get back to the top positions with a nice second and third, but in the fourth regatta of the day (eighth course race of the event) placed twenty-first. However, the signals remain excellent, given that Marta is recovering day by day positions in the general classification, with the real chance to enter the medal series scheduled for Sunday.

Saturday still final series with scheduled 4 regattas or slalom or course race, depending on the intensity of the wind: from the general classification the first 10 access the medal series.