Triple-crown ALCATEL J/70 Cup Awarded to L’ELAGAIN!

(Riva del Garda, Italy)- In Riva del Garda, from September 9th to 11th, the final act of the 2016 ALCATEL J/70 CUP ITALY took place.  It was the fourth stage of the season long series and also marked the finale for the ALPEN CUP- emblematic of the Lago di Garda J/70 Champion.  So many famous names of sailing were in attendance, like the American Paul Cayard (Star World Champion and America’s Cup skipper) aboard CALVI NETWORK and the multiple J/24 World Champion from Brazil- Mauricio Santa Cruz on BRUSCHETTA.

Thirty-three crews representing nine countries sailed the regatta, hosted by one of Europe’s most famous sailing venues- Fraglia Vela Riva.  Crews participated from Spain, Malta, Monaco, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, Russia and Brazil.

Franco Solerio’s L’ELAGAIN (with tactician Danele Cassinari) was hoping to repeat last year's win and keep the national title. The San Remo team was being chased hard by Carlo Alberini’s CALVI NETWORK for the overall title.  Meanwhile, sitting in third with a mathematical chance at winning the overall title was the top Corinthians crew- Alexander Zampori’s MAGIE DAS Sailing Team.  And, they were being hotly pursued by Claudia Rossi’s European Championship team on PETITE TERRIBLE.

Day 1
Riva del Garda delivered on the first day of sailing, providing the fleet with winds from 180 deg and blowing 10-12 kts with gusts to over 16 kts- a perfect stage for the savvy competitors.  After the first day, Solerio’s crew on L’ELAGAIN jumped into an early lead with 1-5-1 finishes for 7 pts.  Working hard to maintain their consistency was the all-star cast on Alberini’s CALVI NETWORK, with tactician Paul Cayard working out the kinks and barely keeping them in the hunt with finishes of 4-6-8 fro 18 pts.  The fight for third place ended up in a tie between Rossi’s PETITE TERRIBLE with a daily scoreline of 9-7-5 and the Spanish J/80 World Champion team led by Jose Maria “Pichu” Torcida on NOTICIAS with a tally of 3-10-7 for 20 pts.

Leading the Corinthians division was the Maltese Sebastian Ripard on board CALYPSO.  Lying second behind them was Ludovico Fassitelli’s JUNDA from YC Monaco with a 3-3-22 and in third was Diego Negri’s Italian NOTARO Team with a 1-6-24.

Day 2
After three more races on the final day, Solerio’s L’ELAGAIN took the Fraglia Vela Riva Act IV and, as a result, won the ALCATEL J/70 CUP overall as well as taking the ALPEN CUP for best Riva del Garda team!  Solerio’s team consisted of Daniele Cassinari (tactician), Stefano Orlandi (mainsail trimmer), Roberto Torn (trimmer).  By finishing second in Riva del Garda, Rossi’s PETITE TERRIBLE team secured third overall for the season series.  Although the Alberini-Cayard combo on CALVI NETWORK finished 3rd on Garda, they still ended up second overall for the season.

Sitting in fourth place was another famous combination in Garda; skipper Michele Galli on B2 with America’s Cup skipper and J/24 World Champion Francesco d’Angelis calling tactics.  Fifth in the regatta was Pichu Torcida from Spain on NOTICIAS.  For more ALCATEL J/70 Cup sailing information