Today was the opening match of the Louis Vuitton Cup, with the Swiss and French teams lining up in difficult, unstable conditions that resulted in the race being pushed back 35 minutes. When the wind picked up and the racing finally began, the French boat managed to win the start to take an early lead on the left side of the course. The Swiss team fought hard to close the gap, particularly making gains on the downwind, but ultimately the French did a good job managing the shifty course and sailed to their first win of the Round Robin. The next race for the Swiss team will be tomorrow opposite NYYC American Magic, again for the first match of the day starting at 14:10 CET. Click here for today’s race results and current standings. 

Nicolas Rolaz, Trimmer: “In this breeze, when you fall behind, it's hard to catch up, the boat needs a lot of adjustments, and we also need to keep our eyes out to look for the best pressure and best wind. Obviously, our strategy wasn’t the best today. We believed the right side was pretty strong, and our forecast supported that. In the end, we got smashed by the left. The guys we’re up against also know how to read the wind and how to defend, so it was almost over from the beginning. We had a good catch-up in the downwind, but it wasn’t enough. It can sometimes be hard to accept, but that’s sailing. We know it can happen.”

“It’s not the first time the team has faced moments like this. Everybody has lost a race in their life, especially coming from such a wide range of sports. We just need to focus on tomorrow and fine-tune the little details we didn’t do well today.”

Augustin Maillefer, Cyclor: “On a day like today, you have no time to pause onboard because straight lines aren't really straight lines – you’re always having to adjust to the wind. So, for the cyclors, it was really hot today, with a constant feeling like you have to push harder to catch up. We were chasing the French, and of course we wanted it the other way around. For the next days, everyone will focus on their task and we’ll show what we can do as individuals and as a team.”

Juan Vila, Meteorologist / Testing Manager: “The wind conditions were definitely tricky, very unstable. From the start, we didn’t really manage to stay with the French boat, and then got the first shift on the wrong side. The left side of the course was a little favoured at first, but then it seemed to open up later. When you’re behind, it’s difficult to catch up, but overall, I think the guys did a great job of minimising the distance and taking every opportunity, every shift, to catch up.”