The Sailing World Cup Final kicked off in Santander, Spain today (6 June) with riders aiming to put some 'keepers' on the board.
It's a common phrase in sailing (and as such, kiteboard racing), you cannot win on the opening day, but you could lose it. Therefore the 260 competitors from 41 nations racing across the ten Olympic and open kiteboarding fleets strived to put good results on the board and lay the foundation for the week ahead.
A 10-13 knot westerly breeze enabled sailors to complete all their races across a cloud covered Bay of Biscay and Santander Bay.
French World Cup winner Nico Parlier (FRA) was the form rider in the Foiling Formula Kite today. Guy Bridge (GBR) hot on his heels won three races in the blue fleet and is second overall.
Defending Sailing World Cup Final champion Oliver Bridge (GBR) is down in sixth place, however things can change quickly with six races scheduled for each day of the qualifying series before the 18 riders from 9 countries are split into gold and silver fleets before the all deciding Medal Race Series scheduled for Saturday 10 June which will be broadcasted live.
TOP 5 after 6 qualifying series races (1 discard)
1. Nicolas Parlier (FRA) - 5 pts
2. Guy Bridge (GBR) - 7 pts
3. Titouan Galea (FRA) - 9 pts
3. Riccardo Leccese (ITA) - 10 pts
5. Denis Taradin (RUS) - 14 pts
World Sailing will be live on YouTube on Saturday with three final races. Subscribe for live alerts
goo.gl/43doQAFull results HERE