Logging one less elimination than the men, the women’s event would be judged on four races. Commanding from the outset, Arrighetti produced a faultless performance in the first elimination, finishing first in the qualifying round, and then repeating the feat in the subsequent final, to grant her the early event lead. In her wake, she left Aruba’s Sarah-Quita Offringa (Starboard / Gaastra / Mystic) in second and France’s Fanny Aubet (JP / NeilPryde) in third.
Entering the second elimination, France’s Lise Vidal (Exocet / North) stepped up her game to steal the winner’s final from under the nose of Offringa in second. That left Arrighetti to take third in the heat; another consistent result for her stash.
In the women’s third elimination, Vidal showed her pervious race-winning performance was far from a flash in the pan, when she breezed through the round to win the race in truly domineering fashion. Behind her, the super consistent Arrighetti consolidated her event lead with yet another podium finish in second, and Offringa added to a similarly consistent run of results in third.
The fourth and final women’s elimination saw stablemates Arrighetti and Offringa duel in a super close race final as they screamed down the final reach neck and neck, leaving the finish line crew the tough job of calling a winner. Following close scrutiny, Arrighetti was rewarded with the win, and what would become the event title, handing Offringa a well fought second position, with France’s Morane Demont (Starboard / Severne) clinching third.
Valerie Arrighetti:
“The conditions have been really difficult here, it’s so gusty. It’s a nice place to be, but the thermal wind hasn’t really blown consistently. I’ve won, but it’s been very difficult for me because of my shoulder injury. At the moment I don’t have enough muscle, and I can’t get enough power when I’m racing. I’m really happy to win here, it really helps me mentally. This year I’ve changed sail sponsor to Gaastra, but because of my injury I’ve had no time to test and tune the new sails, so it’s been really hard to come here and have to tune them during a competition. With everything that’s gone on with me over the past winter, this win really means a lot to me.”
The world tour now heads back to Europe for the slalom fleets’ third bout, at the 2011 Catalunya Costa Brava World Cup, from the 31st May - 5th June. For more information, please contact the PWA office via [email protected]
