The bulls from Austria: Roman Hagar and Hans-Peter Steinacher were the dominant team in Starnberg
The Olympic champions Roman Hagarund Hans-Peter Steinacher (Austria) sail “simply top notch” - this is not only how their German competitor Roland Gäbler (Tinglev) sees it. The three-time world champion said what everyone thought: Hagara / Steinacher are currently the undisputed top team in international sailing.
The gold medal winners from the Alpine republic confidently won the opening stage of the Volvo Champions Race, which is endowed with 76,000 euros. Around 10,000 spectators witnessed the triumph of the double Olympic champions on Lake Starnberg on Sunday alone. Behind the Austrians, the German crew Johannes Polgar and Florian Spalteholz (Kiel) proved their current strength with second place.
The two-time German champions used their chances on the last day of the race in more stable wind conditions and sailed past their former national coach Roland Gäbler (Tinglev). He was unlucky - in the middle of the race the harness tore and Gäbler was lying in the water. Highly motivated, Polgar / Spalteholz are now traveling to the Tornado World Cup in LRochelle, France, to meet Hagara / Steinacher again and also the Olympic champions John Lovell / Charlie Ogletree (USA)
The US boys couldn't get enough of the Volvo Race Village and the many spectators who pampered the sailors with applause after each race. Ogletree: “I've never seen that before. We don't have anything like that!"
The difficult wind conditions on the second day of the race were followed by three races on Sunday under much more constant conditions. And in doing so, the audience experienced the scenes that made the VCR an unforgettable experience last year.
In the 49er class, the brothers Peter and Sören Hansen from Denmark took the lead. The "Hansen Brothers" had already won the overall ranking of the Volvo Champions Race in 2003 and were second in 2004.
The best German crew were the young Hamburg sailors Jan-Peter and Hannes Peckolt in fourth place. The European champions Marcus Baur (Kiel) and Max Groy (Fleckeby), after all defending champions in the Volvo Champions Race, only finished seventh. There was a lack of consistency and obviously a little bit of bite.
The organizers of the Volvo Champions Race counted a total of 30,000 spectators on the three days of the competition at Lake Starnberg. This exceeded the number of visitors from the previous year by around 5,000 spectators.
It was full to bursting on the promenade in Undosa Park and in the Volvo Race Village the evening before: a rousing fireworks display, choreographed to rock music, pulled thousands to a storm of applause. After that, the party continued until the early hours of the morning.
The Volvo Champions Race sailing series will continue from June 30th to July 3rd in Leipzig on the Cospudener See. The last stage will take place in Travemünde from September 8th to 11th.
The results
Final result of the tornado class after 12 races:
1. Roman Hagara / Hans-Peter Steinacher (Austria), 26 points 2. Johannes Polgar / Florian Spalteholz (Kiel), 373. Peder Ronholt / Mads Möller (Denmark), 374. Roland Gäbler (Tinglev) / Gunnar Struckmann (Kiel), 405. Darren Bundock / Aaron Worrall (Australia), 4
Final result of the 49er class after 12 races:
1. Peter and Sören Hansen (Denmark), 36 points 2. Christoffer Sundby / Frode Bovim (Norway), 403. Nico Delle-Karth / Nikolaus Resch (Austria), 414. Jan-Peter and Hannes Peckolt (Hamburg), 435. Rodion Luka / Christoph Sieber (Ukraine / Austria), 4