BRITISH DUO STEAL VICTORY FOR 470 WOMEN IN HYERES WORLD CUP

The 470 Women delivered some dramatic action on the final day of racing at the Hyeres World Cup in France as the countdown to the Olympics reaches its climax. The French pair of Camille Lecointre and Helene Defrance had been leading the regatta, one final big event ahead of Rio, after some tight racing between some of the biggest names in the competitive class. But the home favorites went into the final race only one point ahead of the British duo of Hannah Mills and Saskia Clark, and only two points ahead of Brazilians Fernanda Oliviera and Ana Luisa Barbachan.

It was the Brazilians who got off to the superior start in the decisive medal race, leaving Mills and Clark in a dogfight to defend their position against the home favorites. However, Oliviera and Barbachan could not hold their position out front from New Zealand Olympic champions Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie. And when the Kiwis moved into the lead on the second lap, the British girls, the 2012 World Champions, were then able to take advantage of the Kiwi’s work to beat the French team to third and ensure their gold medal. The strong showing from the Brazilian pair saw them claim a silver medal overall, finishing only one point behind the Brits and tied on points with the French.

With the British pair aiming to convert their silver medal from London 2012 into more gold this summer, Sunday’s victory could not have come at a better time. “It was exciting – it was absolutely freezing as well,” said Mills. “I think some English weather may have helped us today. It was really exciting and really tight, and all the top boats were right up there in the mix so it was a ‘who beats who’ scenario. We had our eyes on what was going on and we caught the Brazilians up quite a lot on the second beat. Once we saw that the Kiwis had definitely passed them, we relaxed a bit and really wanted to protect the French to make sure we got the win.”

North Sails are the sail of choice for all the leading pairs, holding a market share in excess of 90%, and the podium of Britain, Brazil and France all use North Sails mainsails. The North Sails radial-cut offering for the Women’s 470 is designed and produced in Japan.

For more results, please visit: http://www.sailing.org/worldcup/regattas/hyeres_2016.php