Athletes look to make their mark at Trofeo Princesa Sofia

A week, before the curtain goes up on the 54th Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels, the entry lists, are now almost definitive and confirm a historic post-Olympic edition, with almost 850 boats registered comparing favorably to the 779 which took part at the first Sofia regatta of the Paris 2024 cycle. In each of the four men's classes, a new generation of sailors will be looking to shine on Mallorca’s Bay of Palma taking their place in the spotlight in the absence of some of the most successful big names.

The prestigious Spanish Olympic sailing competition which will see racing run from Monday, March 31 to Saturday, April 5 on the world-renowned waters of the Bay of Palma sees all ten Olympic classes in action, the same divisions that raced in Marseille last summer, and the same 10 set to fight for Olympic glory in Los Angeles 2028.

The four men's categories stand out for being among the biggest. The ILCA 7 fleet maintains its usual strong popularity with 174 entries, in the men's IQFOiL up to 111 boards will be on the starting line, in 49er 92 crews have registered, and in the men's Formula Kite, there will be 59 riders who will fly at the 54 Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels.

In 49er, the Paris 2024 medalists take a well-deserved break in their Olympic campaigns. Spaniards Diego Botín and Florian Trittel, gold medalists in Marseille, will be absent from the Mallorcan event due to their commitments on the SailGP circuit, which is currently racing in the United States. The silver medalists New Zealanders Isaac McHardie and William McKenzie, Olympic and American bronze medalists Ian Barrows, and Hans Henken, bronze medalists in Paris 2024, also miss the Princesa Sofia. But Ireland's Robert Dickson and Sean Waddilove, who narrowly missed out on the Olympic podium in August last year, are already hard on the 2028 campaign trail and come to the Mallorcan event energized and focused, the only Irish crew registered. The great Mallorcan regatta is also on the early season itinerary of Poland's Dominik Buksak, who after finishing fifth in Paris 2024 with Szymon Wierzbicki is now embarking on a new campaign with Adam Glogowski as his new crew

In iQFOiL Men, the entire Paris 2024 podium will compete in the Sofia edition in which FERGUS Hotels is making its debut as a sponsor. The Israeli Tom Reuveny, the Australian Grae Morris, and the Dutch Luuc Van Opzeeland are confirmed in the Mallorcan event, all knowing that time is of the essence right now after the changes of material in this class. Local rider Nacho Baltasar, who only just missed out on the Medal Series in Marseille and is now into his second Olympic campaign more confident than ever, will be ready to resume competition and prove he has made up ground on the medal trio. According to the Mallorcan: “It is the first important regatta after the Games and all the sailors will face each other again, after a short rest: all have put the batteries as soon as possible due to the changes of equipment. I'm looking forward to it because it's at home and because I feel very comfortable with the smaller sail. I know it well because it's the one I used in my youth. I think this change will bring me a significant improvement, as I've always been one of the small ones in the fleet”.

Also in Formula Kite Men, the top favorites have started the new Olympic cycle in earnest after the modifications implemented in the equipment at the beginning of the year. Except for the Olympic runner-up, the Slovenian Toni Vodisek, the top five of Paris 2024 will face each other in the waters of the Bay of Palma. Austria's Valentin Bontus, Singapore's Maximilian Maeder, Italy's Riccardo Pianosi, and Germany's Jannis Maus are in the running to win in the foiling kite category, although it remains to be seen how the changes in equipment will affect the performance of the heavier riders.

In ILCA 7, Cypriot Pavlos Kontides (silver in Paris 2024), Peruvian Stefano Peschiera (bronze in Marseille), and Hungarian Jonatan Vadnai (fourth in the Olympic event) will be the men to beat, although, with a fleet of 174 participants, there could be emerging promises. Although the Spanish representative at the Paris Games, Joaquín Blanco, has dropped out of the Olympic team for a while, the Gran Canarian Joel Rodríguez, an Olympian in Tokyo 2020, is expected to compete at the highest level, along with other Spaniards ready to present their best cards in Mallorca.

The 54 Trofeo Princesa Sofia Mallorca by FERGUS Hotels is held under the joint organization of Club Nàutic S'Arenal, Club Marítimo San Antonio de la Playa, Real Club Náutico de Palma, the Royal Spanish Sailing Federation and the Balearic Sailing Federation, with the support of World Sailing, and is co-financed with the Sustainable Tourism Tax fund of the Govern de les Illes Balears. The Mallorcan event is part of the Sailing Grand Slam 2025, along with the Semaine Olympique Française, the Dutch Water Week, the Kieler Woche, and the Long Beach Olympic Classes Regatta.