The 8th edition of the Algarve Dragon Winter Cup concluded today, and on Tuesday, the 7th Portugal Grand Prix for Olympic classes will begin. The Portuguese Vilamoura is full of sailing highlights.
After eight races in the Dragon class, the winners of the regatta were the Portuguese team – Pedro Rebelo de Andrade, Jose Leitmann, and Tiago Morais. The British team – Ivan Bradburry, Lars Hendriksen, and George Leonchuk – took second place. The Swiss team – François Bopp, Edward Wright, and Ivo Todorov – won the bronze medal in a tie with the fourth crew. Eight races were held, with a total of 10 teams participating.
On Tuesday, February 18, the 7th edition of the Portugal Grand Prix will begin, featuring five sailing classes: ILCA 6, ILCA 7, ILCA 6 men, 49er, 49erFX, and 470.
The largest fleet will be the sailors from the ILCA 7 class, as 92 competitors will line up at the starting line. Among them are numerous Olympians from Paris: William De Smet, Johan Lundgaard Schubert, Vishnu Saravanan, Finn Lynch, Omer Vered Vilenchik, Lorenzo Brando Chiavarini, Michał Krasodomski, and Yigit Yalcin Citak.
The ILCA 6 class will also see Olympians from Paris. The following sailors have confirmed their participation: Elena Vorobeva, Loiuse Cevera, Hannah Snellgrove, Eve Mcmahon, Agata Barwińska, Shay Kakon, Ebru Bolat, Lin Pletikos, and Nethra Kumanan.
A total of nearly 70 crews will race in the skiff class. In the 49er class, two teams from the top ten at the Olympics will compete – Irish sailors Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove, and Uruguayans Hernan Umpierre and Fernando Diz. In the 49erFX class, participants will include Freya Black and Saskia Tidey, Isaura Maenhaut and Anouk Geurts, Zofia Burska and Sára Tkadlecová, Aleksandra Melzacka, and Sandra Jankowiak.
In the 470 class, 18 teams have signed up so far, including Paris Olympians from Germany: Simon Diesch and Anna Markfort.
The regatta will begin on Tuesday, February 18, and end on Saturday, February 22.
Photo Credit: Vilamoura Sailing