- You’ve mentioned the starts were a real issue—what do you think was the main struggle there, and how did that affect your overall rhythm during the heats?
I think I was taking it too safe. and being back on the racing course with everyone after such a long time, it took a bit of time to gain confidence. As in the winter I did not have enough time on the racing course since the conditions did not allow it. felt a bit on the backfoot.
- Seaweed was clearly a major factor—how did it impact your board speed and line choices, and was there anything you could do to manage it mid-race?
The seaweed was very unpredictable; there were big patches of seaweed on the racing course and one time it would stay stuck on the wings and the other time I didn’t. (on that last final we had on day 3 i had some seaweed which was visible on the backswing but could jump to take it off as i had 15 seconds to the start)
- You were on Point-7 sails for the first time in a World Cup—how did they feel under pressure, and did they perform the way you expected in race conditions?
I felt exceptionally good with the sails. I was confident with the speed and definitely with the jibes, I just did not perform on my side.
- Did the new gear influence your starting strategy or your confidence in tight pack situations?
I think the main thing that didn’t give me confidence on the starting line was the foil now as I don’t feel I can point and maintain the speed starting from the pin.
- Even with the frustrations, you still finished fifth, what does that tell you about your current level, even when things don’t go perfectly?
At the end of the day, I’m not happy with 5th place. But overall, I’m incredibly happy with the way I was sailing and managed to fight back even getting last to the first mark sometimes.
So, I’m sure if I figure out the starts and just take it easy in the finals, I’m confident to be top 3 for sure.
- Was there a particular heat where you felt the setup clicked, or where you had moments of good flow despite the seaweed?
I think I really felt good on the racing course even though I did not manage to nail the stars. And we all know if you don’t nail the starts in the light winds, we had it’s extremely hard to fight back with the dirty wind you get. I was able to make good gains at the jibes as I could jibe tight and had good acceleration.
- How different did Guadeloupe’s conditions feel compared to your training environment, especially with the new sail setup?
We had some swell on the racecourse which made a significant difference if you were able to get the good line of the start. As it’s such a light wind it’s hard to get over the back of a swell . Other than that, I think it’s like Bonaire. The only thing I miss on Bonaire is sailing with other guys as I can’t really tune my gear on speed but it’s all on feeling.
- Looking at the other riders, did anyone seem to have found a way around seaweed or had noticeably better starts?
I think all of us had some heats where we had problems with seaweed. but as matteo dominated the event I can say he was particularly good on starts and he had good speed to the first mark which made all the difference.
- What’s your biggest technical takeaway from this event, something you will immediately work on heading into the next one?
STARTS, I’m sure if I can tune a little bit more pointing speed into my gears and the speed i have i can push the starts more and from there can fight for wins.
